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LEONIDAS  POLK 
Volume  I 


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4T"     BATTALION    SUMTER'S    BRIGADE  SOUTH    CAROLINA  HORSE 


LEONIDAS   POLK 

Bishop  and  General 


BY 


WILLIAM  M.  POLK,  M.D.,  LL.D. 

DEAN   OF  THE   MEDICAL  SCHOOL  OF  CORNELL  UNIVERSITY;    FORMERLY  LIEUTENANT 
OF   ARTILLERY   AND   ASSISTANT  CHIEF  OF  ARTILLERY,   POLK'S   CORPS,   C.   S.   A. 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES 

Vol.  I. 


NEW     EDITION 


LONGMANS,    GREEN,    AND    CO 

FOURTH  AVENUE  &  30TH  STREET,  NEW  YORK 
LONDON,   BOMBAY,   CALCUTTA   AND   MADRAS 

1915 


1*1 


fZifl 


v.l 


Copyright,  1893,  by 
William  M.  Polk,  M.D.,  LL.D. 


Copyright,  1915,  by 
William  M.  Polk,  M.D.,  LL.D. 


r.  '  '  ' 


DEDICATED   TO   THE   MEMORY  OF 
FRANCES  DEVEREUX  POLK 
THE  WIFE   OF  LEONIDAS   POLK 


331930 


PREFACE    TO    SECOND    EDITION 

The  second  edition  of  this  book  is  offered  in  answer 
to  a  demand  for  additional  copies.  The  work  has  been 
examined  closely,  and  has  been  treated  in  the  light  of 
criticisms  made  at  the  time  of  the  first  issue.  The 
changes  made  consist  only  and  entirely  in  additions  to 
the  text  which,  with  the  aid  of  new  matter,  has  been 
amplified  and  strengthened  in  several  places.  We  re- 
fer particularly  to  Chapters  I.,  IV.,  and  VI.  of  Volume 
L,  and  to  Chapters  II.,  III.,  V.,  VI.,  VIL,  and  IX.  of 
Volume  II.     Several  illustrations  have  been  added. 


PEEFAOE. 

The  author  expresses  here  his  indebtedness  to  the 
Rev.  John  Fulton,  D.D.,  for  the  invaluable  aid  rendered 
by  him  in  the  preparation  of  this  book.  Dr.  Fulton's 
close  association  with  Bishop  Polk  as  Assistant  Rector 
and  Rector  of  Trinity  Church,  New  Orleans,  during  the 
period  covered  by  Chapters  VI.  and  VII.  of  Volume  I. 
has  enabled  him  to  write  more  fully  and  correctly  of  the 
events  of  that  period  than  was  possible  to  any  one  else. 
These  chapters  are  therefore  presented,  practically,  as  he 
wrote  them. 

The  page  headings,  chapter  headings,  and  index  are 
the  work  of  Mr.  E.  E.  Treffry.  The  completeness  with 
which  he  has  performed  this  task  will  be  best  appre- 
ciated by  those  engaged  in  biographical  and  historical 
research. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  I. 

CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

Ancestry. — Thomas  Polk  of  Mecklenburg.— Under 
Washington.— With  Gates  and  Greene.— William 
Polk.— Germantown.— With  Sumter,  Marion,  and 
Henderson.—  Eutaw  Springs 1 

CHAPTER  II. 

West  Point.— General  Gaines,  General  Scott,  Colo- 
nel Thayer,  Dr.  McIlvaine,  Sidney  Johnston.— 
Class  Standing.  —  Graduation.— Travels  through 
New  England  and  Canada 63 

CHAPTER  III. 

Enters  the  Ministry. —  Theological  Seminary, 
Alexandria. —  Ordination. — Assistant  to  Bishop 
Moore,  Richmond,  Va.— Travels  through  Europe.  105 

CHAPTER    IV.       . 

Priest  to  the  Plantation  Parish.— Missionary 
Bishop  op  the  Southwest.— Work  in  Arkansas, 
Indian  Territory,  Republic  of  Texas,  Louisiana, 
Mississippi,  and  Alabama.—  The  Negro  as  a  Part 
of  his  Charge 145 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Sugar  Plantation. — Scenes  from  the  Planta- 
tion   Home.—  Mrs.   Polk.—  The    Slave    and    his 

Master.—  The  Cholera  Epidemic 181 

ix 


CONTENTS  OF   VOLUME  I. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PAGE 

The  Negro,  the  Problem  at  the  South. — How  to 
Meet  it. — Educate  the  People. — The  Equality  of 
the  South  in  the  Union  of  the  States. — "The 
University  of  the  South  will  do  Much  to  Com- 
pose and  Reconcile  National  Feeling." 219 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Secession  of  Louisiana. — Action  of  the  Dioceses. — 
The  Church  in  the  Confederate  States. — Bishop 
Polk's  Attitude 298 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Enters  the  Confederate  Army. — The  Manner  of 
Doing  it. — How  the  Act  was  Received. — A  Tem- 
porary Service. — Efforts  to  Resign 350 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Lieutenant-Colonel    William    Polk Frontispiece 

Leonidas  Polk,  Missionary  Bishop  of  the 

Southwest To  face  page  145 

St.  John's  Church To  face  page  177 

Leonidas  Polk,  Bishop  of  Louisiana  ....  To  face  page  219 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  FOREFATHERS  OF  LEONIDAS  POLK. 
1620  TO  1826. 

Settlement  of  John  Pollock  of  Lanarkshire,  Scotland,  in  the  north  of 
Ireland.— His  son,  Robert  Pollock,  serves  under  Cromwell;  emigrates 
to  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland.—  Change  of  the  name  of  Pollock  to 
Polk.— William,  grandson  of  Robert  Polk,  removes  to  Carlisle,  Penn- 
sylvania.—His  son  Thomas  removes  to  Mecklenburg  County,  North 
Carolina;  a  Member  of  the  Provincial  Assembly  in  1762  and  1771; 
leader  of  the  opposition  to  British  aggression.—  General  temper  of  the 
Colonies.— The  revolutionary  spirit  in  North  Carolina.— The  Mecklen- 
burg Declaration;  Thomas  Polk's  part  therein;  appointed  Colonel  of 
Continentals ;  serves  with  Washington  at  Brandywine  and  Valley  Forge ; 
convoys  the  "  Liberty  Bell  "  to  Bethlehem ;  Commissary-General  under 
Gates ;  appointed  Brigadier-General  by  Greene ;  why  the  appointment 
was  not  confirmed;  death  of  Colonel  Polk  in  1794.— Mr.  Lossing's  error 
in  his  "  Field-Book  of  the  Revolution."— The  error  handsomely  acknowl- 
edged.—Birth  of  William  Polk,  July,  1758;  Major  to  the  Continental 
Army  at  the  age  of  eighteen ;  engaged  at  Brandywine ;  frightfully 
wounded  at  German  town ;  Valley  Forge ;  present  at  the  defeat  at  Cam- 
den; serves  with  Davidson;  following  the  fortunes  of  Sumter  and 
Marion;  battle  of  Eutaw  Springs.— Colonel  William  Polk's  career  after 
the  war;  Member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina;  U.  S. 
Supervisor  of  Revenue  for  North  Carolina ;  President  of  the  State 
Bank;  appointed  Brigadier- General  of  the  Army  of  the  United  States; 
declines  the  appointment ;  Commissioner  to  receive  the  Marquis  de  La- 
fayette ;  his  death  in  1834. 

Before  we  attempt  to  sketch  the  career  or  to  estimate 
the  character  of  Leonidas  Polk  it  will  be  of  some  advan- 
tage to  recall  some  incidents  in  the  story  of  the  adven- 
turous race  of  pioneers  from  which  he  was  descended. 
The  origin  of  the  family  is  obscure.    An  old  tradition  of 

l 


■ 


2     JOBtf  POLLOCK  SETTLES  IN  IRELAND.     [1620 

the  derivation  of  the  family  name  in  its  original  form 
of  Pollock  is  too  clearly  apocryphal  to  be  worth  repeat- 
ing. A  whimsical  tale  of  the  exploit  which  led  to  the 
adoption  of  the  arms  of  the  Pollocks  is  not  more  trust- 
worthy, but  the  device  of  a  wild  boar  pierced  with  an 
arrow,  and  the  motto,  Audaciter  et  Strenue,  "  Boldly  and 
Stoutly,"  must  evidently  have  been  suggested  by  some 
feat  of  daring  in  which  courage  and  strength  were  both 
exhibited. 

The  branch  of  the  Pollock  family  from  which  Leoni- 
das  Polk  traced  his  descent  was  represented  in  the  reign 
of  James,  Sixth  of  Scotland  and  First  of  England,  by 
John  Pollock,  a  gentleman  of  some  estate  in  Lanark- 
shire, not  far  from  what  was  then  the  small  but  impor- 
tant cathedral  city  of  Glasgow.  Those  were  troublous 
times  in  Church  and  State,  and  John  Pollock,  who  was 
an  uncompromising  Presbyterian,  left  his  native  land  to 
join  the  new  colony  of  Protestants  which  had  been  es- 
tablished in  the  north  of  Ireland.  It  was  a  hazardous 
adventure ;  for  although  the  last  of  the  numerous  petty 
kings  of  Ireland  had  professedly  submitted  to  the  Eng- 
lish arms  at  the  beginning  of  King  James's  reign,  the 
Irish  people  cherished  a  vindictive  hatred  of  their  con- 
querors, and  while  the  king's  writ  ran  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  island,  the  Scotch  and  Eng- 
lish colonists  were  often  compelled  to  maintain  peace 
by  drawing  and  using  their  good  swords.  Little  more 
is  now  known  of  John  Pollock  than  that  he  lived  to 
a  good  age,  and  that  he  had  a  son  of  true-blue  Pres- 
byterian principles  and  of  a  strenuous  temper  like  his 
own. 

Robert  Pollock,  a  son  of  John  Pollock,  served  as  a 
subaltern  officer  in  the  regiment  of  Colonel  Tasker  in 
the  Parliamentary  army  against  Charles  I.,  and  took  an 


1659]        EMIGRATION  OF  ROBERT  POLLOCK.  3 

active  part  in  the  campaigns  of  Cromwell.  He  married 
Magdalen  Tasker,  who  was  the  widow  of  his  friend  and 
companion  in  arms,  Colonel  Porter,  and  one  of  the  two 
daughters  of  Colonel  Tasker,  then  Chancellor  of  Ire- 
land, of  Bloomfleld  Castle,  on  the  river  Dale.  By  this 
marriage  Pollock  acquired  the  estate  of  "Moning"  or 
"  Moneen n  Hill,  in  the  barony  of  Ross,  county  of  Don- 
egal, Ireland,  of  which  his  wife  was  heiress.  Her  elder 
sister,  Barbara,  who  was  born  in  1640,  married  Captain 
John  Keys,  an  English  soldier,  and  their  descendants 
still  own  Bloomfield  Castle.  On  the  death  of  Cromwell 
and  the  accession  of  the  second  Charles,  Robert  Pollock 
resolved  to  emigrate  with  his  wife  and  family  to  the 
American  plantations.  In  1659  he  took  ship  at  London- 
derry, and  after  a  stormy  voyage,  during  which  one 
of  his  children  died,  he  landed  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of 
Maryland,  in  the  province  of  which  Lord  Baltimore  was 
"  Sovereign  Lord  and  Proprietary."  Soon  after  his  emi- 
gration the  surname  of  Pollock  began  to  be  written  Polk, 
and  it  appears  in  that  form  in  the  will  of  his  widow, 
Magdalen  Polk.  Grants  of  land  on  the  Eastern  Shore 
were  made  to  Robert  Pollock,  or  Polk,  and  to  his  sons ; 
and  a  homestead  patented  under  the  name  of  Polk's 
Folly  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the  family.  In  com- 
parison with  other  changes  in  the  surnames  of  settlers  in 
the  American  plantations,  this  change  was  slight.  Thus, 
in  one  well-authenticated  instance,  Beauclerc  was  trans- 
formed to  Butler,  and  two  families  now  bearing  the 
names  of  Noyes  and  Delano  are  known  to  be  descended 
from  a  common  ancestor  whose  surname  was  De  la 
Noye.  Polk's  Folly  lies  south  of  Fauquier  Sound,  oppo- 
site the  mouths  of  the  Nanticoke  and  Wicomico  rivers. 
The  old  clock  which  was  brought  from  Ireland  by  Rob- 
ert Pollock  still  stands  in  the  hall  of  the  dwelling-house, 


4     THE  POLK  FAMILY  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.     [1753 

and  his  mahogany  liquor-case  is  still  preserved  among 
the  family  relics.1 

John  Polk,  the  eldest  son  of  Robert  Pollock  and  Mag- 
dalen Tasker,  married  Joanna  Knox.  Two  children, 
William  and  Nancy,  were  born  of  this  marriage.  Will- 
iam married  Priscilla  Roberts,  and  afterward  removed 
to  Carlisle,  Penn.,  where  his  fourth  son,  Thomas  Polk, 
grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  born. 

Following  the  example  of  John  Pollock,  the  Scottish 
colonist  of  Ireland,  of  Robert  Pollock,  the  Cromwellian 
soldier  who  emigrated  from  Ireland  to  Maryland,  and 
of  his  father,  William  Polk,  who  removed  from  the 
province  of  Maryland  to  the  province  of  Pennsylvania, 
Thomas  Polk  set  out  in  1753  to  seek  his  fortune  in  a 
new  field.  In  company  with  his  two  brothers,  Ezekiel 
and  Charles,  he  traveled  through  Maryland  and  Virginia, 
skirted  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  crossed  the 
Dan  and  Yadkin  rivers,  and  finally  settled  in  Mecklen- 
burg County,  in  the  western  part  of  the  province  of 
North  Carolina.  For  his  homestead  he  selected  lands  on 
Sugar  Creek,  a  branch  of  the  Catawba  River,  in  a  neigh- 
borhood where  not  a  few  pioneers  had  already  made 
their  clearings.  Most  of  them  were  emigrants  from 
Great  Britain  who  had  spent  a  few  years  on  the  banks 
of  the  Delaware  before  going  to  North  Carolina;  and 
among  the  sturdy  colonists  of  Mecklenburg  County  the 
Scotch-Irish  stock,  from  which  Polk  himself  had  sprung, 
was  largely  represented.  In  1755  he  married  Susan 
Spratt,  the  daughter  of  a  farmer  who  had  removed  from 
Pennsylvania  in  the  same  year  in  which  Polk  had  left 

1  Among  the  descendants  of  Robert  Polk  were  Charles  Polk,  Gover- 
nor of  Delaware,  Trusten  Polk,  Governor  of  Missouri  and  United  States 
Senator,  and  James  K.  Polk,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
and  President  of  the  United  States. 


1771]  THOMAS  POLK  A  LEGISLATOR.  5 

Carlisle,  and  it  seems  likely  enough  that  the  bright  eyes 
of  the  farmer's  daughter,  as  well  as  the  prospect  of  rich 
lands  in  the  Sugar  Creek  bottoms,  had  cheered  the  young 
emigrant  in  his  long  and  difficult  journey.  By  industry 
and  enterprise  he  soon  acquired  a  large  tract  of  land 
and  a  sufficient  fortune  to  enable  him  to  rear  and  edu- 
cate the  nine  children  born  of  this  marriage  in  the  simple 
but  liberal  style  of  a  colonial  gentleman.  His  personal 
qualities  made  him  a  leader  in  the  settlement,  and  we 
find  him  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Assembly  of 
North  Carolina  almost  continuously  from  1766  to  1776. 
He  led  the  opposition  of  his  neighbors  to  the  officers  of 
the  Crown  who,  aided  by  several  of  the  most  influential 
members  of  the  community,  attempted  to  enforce  what 
Thomas  Polk  and  his  supporters  considered  the  unjust 
demands  of  Lord  George  Selwyn's  agent.  The  ques- 
tion, at  first  one  of  Colonial  jurisdiction,  became  finally 
one  of  price  to  be  exacted  of  tenants  for  lands  of  the 
Selwyn  grant  already  taken  up  and  occupied  by  them 
in  due  form.  This  rather  personal  affair,  known  locally 
as  "The  Sugar  Creek  War"— 1762  to  March  6,  1765— l 
was  followed  not  long  after — 1770 — by  a  more  serious 
and  widespread  movement — "The  War  of  the  Regu- 
lators." Thomas  Polk,  as  Captain  of  a  company  of 
his  district,  opposed  this  uprising.  Together  with 
Abraham  Alexander  and  John  Frohock,  neighbors  who 
had  actively  opposed  him  in  the  Sugar  Creek  episode, 
he  virtually  founded  the  City  of  Charlotte,  January 
15,  1767.  For  it  was  to  these  three,2  as  "Trustees  and 
Directors,"  that  Lord  Selwyn's  agent,  Henry  Eustace 
McCulloh,  on  this  date,  conveyed  the  360  acres  of  land 
upon  which  the  town  was  located  and  which  now  con- 

i  Colonial  Records  North  Carolina,  vol.  vi,  pp.  772,  793,  799. 
2  Ibid.,  vol.  vii,  pp.  18,  19,  22,  23,  32,  38. 


6  QUEEN'S  COLLEGE.  [1771 

stitutes  the  center  of  a  city  of  34,000  inhabitants,  one 
of  the  largest  manufacturing  centers  of  cotton  goods  in 
the  Southern  states.  The  location  of  this  plot  of  ground 
was  no  doubt  the  joint  work  of  Thomas  Polk  and  John 
Frohock,  both  surveyors;  Polk  himself  being  employed 
later  under  Provincial  authority  to  run  the  line  dividing 
North  from  South  Carolina,  this  survey  being  made, 
in  part,  no  doubt,  to  determine  for  purposes  of  adminis- 
tration, which  portions  of  the  Selwyn  grant  lay  in  the 
Province  of  North  Carolina  and  which  belonged  to  its 
neighbor  on  the  South,  the  Governor  of  the  two  provinces 
and  the  people  being  at  odds  in  this  matter.  Under 
his  patronage  an  academy  for  the  education  of  youth  was 
established  near  his  residence,  and  he  procured  the  pas- 
sage by  the  Assembly  of  an  act  to  establish  "Queen's 
College"  in  the  town  of  Charlotte,  thus  securing  to 
young  men  in  the  western  part  of  the  province  the 
opportunity  of  a  more  advanced  education  than  is  usual 
in  newly  settled  regions.  "Queen's  College,''  though 
disallowed  by  the  Crown,  prospered  until  the  Revolu- 
tion, when  the  British  troops  took  possession  of 
the  town  and  burned  the  buildings.  The  devotion 
of  its  students  to  the  cause  of  American  independence 
gained  for  it  the  name  of  "the  Southern  Cradle  of 
Liberty." 

He  took  a  leading  part  in  all  the  patriotic  movements 
by  which  the  colonists  endeavored  to  withstand  the 
aggressions  of  the  mother-country;  and  Joseph  Seawell 
Jones,  in  his  "Defense  of  the  Revolutionary  History 
of  North  Carolina,"  declares  that  Thomas  Polk  was  the 
first  to  maintain  the  necessity  of  dissolving  the  political 
ties  which  bound  the  colonies  to  Great  Britain.  His 
feelings  and  opinions  were  decided;  his  expression  of 
them  was  frank  and  courageous;  and  Mr.  Jones  adds 


1775]  EARLY  REVOLUTIONARY  SPIRIT.  7 

that  "out  of  these  feelings  and  opinions  grew  the  Meck- 
lenburg Declaration  of  Independence, "  in  the  framing 
of  which  Thomas  Polk  was  the  leading  spirit.1  Even  so 
bold  a  leader  as  Samuel  Johnston,  referring  to  this  work, 
wrote  Joseph  Hewes,  an  associated  delegate  at  Philadel- 
phia, "Tom  Polk,  too,  is  raising  a  pretty  spirit  in  the 
back  country  (see  the  newspapers).  He  has  gone  a 
little  farther  than  I  would  choose  to  have  gone,  but 
perhaps  no  farther  than  necessary."  And  years  after, 
the  expression,  "Och!  Aye!  Tarn  Polk  declared  inde- 
pendence long  before  anybody  else,"  was  uttered  by  more 
than  one  "Mecklenburger." 

In  his  early  zeal  for  American  independence,  Polk 
was  in  advance  of  most  men  of  the  Southern  colonies. 
The  prevailing  sentiment  in  Virginia,  in  the  Carolinas, 
and,  indeed,  in  all  the  colonies  south  of  New  York, 
differed  materially  from  that  of  the  people  of  New 
England.  In  New  York  the  public  sentiment,  like  the 
population,  was  mixed;  in  New  Jersey  and  Philadelphia 
the  Revolutionary  spirit,  even  after  1776,  was  much  more 
fervent  in  a  few  conspicuous  individuals  than  among  the 
mass  of  the  people.  In  a  broad  way  Virginia  and  New 
England  represented  two  distinct  traditional  tendencies. 
New  England  looked  back  to  the  Commonwealth  as  the 
glorious  period  of  English  history;  Virginia  had  sent 
her  homage  to  the  exiled  Charles  II.  and  had  heartily 
hated  the  "Crop-Ears."  The  colonists  of  both  de- 
manded their  rights  as  Britons,  but  their  principles  and 
prepossessions  were  widely  different  in  many  respects, 
and  it  will  always  be  a  cause  of  wonder  that  the  most 

1  It  must  be  admitted  that  the  violent  prejudice  and  the  exaggerated 
style  of  this  writer  have  seriously  affected  his  credit  as  a  historian ;  yet 
his  statements  of  the  facts  are  generally  trustworthy.  In  the  matter 
here  under  consideration  they  are  amply  confirmed  by  other  evidence. 


8  AMERICAN  LOYALTY  TO  ENGLAND.       [1775 

shortsighted  of  ministries  should  not  have  attempted 
to  make  terms  with  the  one  section  in  order  more  effect- 
ually to  turn  its  arms  against  the  other. 

The  colonists  in  general  entered  upon  the  struggle 
with  the  king  and  his  ministers  with  no  purpose  of 
severing  the  ties  which  bound  them  to  the  mother- 
country,  but  solely,  as  they  constantly  and  openly  de- 
clared, to  obtain  their  constitutional  rights  as  Britons. 
Their  aim,  indeed,  was  rather  to  draw  the  bonds  of 
union  with  Great  Britain  closer  than  to  form  an  in- 
dependent nation.  This  desire  was  so  general,  and 
the  name  of  Briton  was  so  highly  prized,  especially  by 
the  well-descended  colonists,  that  they  were  galled  at 
every  indication  of  a  political  difference  between  them- 
selves and  their  fellow-subjects  at  home.  Certain  it  is 
that,  until  the  British  Government  had  explicitly  and 
haughtily  refused  to  acknowledge  what  the  American 
colonists  held  to  be  their  constitutional  rights,  and  until 
a  senseless  course  of  petty  but  high-handed  oppression 
had  alienated  their  affections,  no  more  loyal  subjects 
bore  the  name  of  Briton  than  the  people  of  the  Amer- 
ican colonies.  Thus  far  there  had  been  little  immigra- 
tion from  the  Continental  countries  of  Europe.  With 
few  exceptions  the  colonists  had  come  from  the  British 
islands.  They  had  inherited  the  rights,  and  they  under- 
stood the  principles,  of  constitutional  liberty.  When 
their  sovereign  denied  those  rights  and  trampled  on 
their  liberty  as  though  they  were  not  Britons,  then,  and 
only  then,  reluctantly  but  resolutely,  they  drew  their 
swords  to  vindicate  their  birthright.  War  once  begun, 
the  old  love  turned  to  hate,  and,  before  the  struggle 
closed,  the  very  name  of  Briton,  which  they  had  once 
prized,  had  become  a  synonym  of  all  that  was  tyrannous 
and  detestable. 


1775]  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY.  9 

The  people  of  North  Carolina,  however,  and  especially 
the  people  of  Mecklenburg  County,  did  not  share  the 
general  sentiment  of  loyalty  which  in  the  earlier  stages 
of  the  quarrel  pervaded  the  other  colonies  south  of  New 
England.  In  his  centennial  address  on  the  Mecklen- 
burg Declaration,  Governor  William  A.  Graham  says, 
with  much  truth,  that  from  the  outset  the  leading  spirits 
in  that  province  were  eager  for  revolution.  They  de- 
tested the  institution  of  monarchy,  and  they  were  un- 
alterably convinced  that  if  the  colonies  were  to  be  truly 
free  they  must  renounce  their  allegiance  to  the  Crown. 
Thus,  while  others  were  vainly  striving  to  devise  expe- 
dients to  avert  a  war  into  which  they  were  blindly  drift- 
ing, Thomas  Polk  was  preparing  the  stern  and  not  easily 
governed  people  of  his  neighborhood  for  the  clash  of 
arms  he  saw  to  be  inevitable. 

The  colonists  of  North  Carolina  had  always  been  in- 
tolerant and  resentful  of  interference  in  their  affairs. 
As  early  as  1751  Governor  Burrington  complained: 
"They  have  always  behaved  insolently  to  their  gov- 
ernors. Some  they  have  driven  out  of  the  country;  at 
other  times  they  have  set  up  a  government  of  their  own 
choice,  supported  by  men  under  arms."  It  was  Corn- 
wall's uncomfortable  fortune  during  his  invasion  of 
North  Carolina  to  have  his  headquarters  in  Charlotte, 
the  county  seat  of  that  "heady-minded"  county  of 
Mecklenburg,  which  he  soon,  and  with  very  good  reason, 
pronounced  to  be  the  "  hornets'  nest  of  North  Carolina." l 
Whatever  hope  there  might  have  been  of  bringing  the 
hornets  in  this  nest  to  live  peaceably  with  the  repre- 

1  Colonel  Tarleton,  in  his  "Memoirs,"  p.  159,  says:  "It  was  evident, 
and  had  been  frequently  mentioned  to  the  king's  officers,  that  the 
counties  of  Mecklenburg  and  Rohan  were  more  hostile  to  England 
than  any  others  in  America." 


10  COLONEL  THOMAS  POLK.  [1775 

sentatives  of  British  authority  was  shattered  by  the 
guns  of  Lexington.  Even  the  loyalists  of  New  York, 
who  were  planning  to  bring  about  a  better  understand- 
ing between  the  colonists  and  the  Crown,  then  felt  that 
almost  the  last  hope  of  reconciliation  had  vanished.  To 
the  impetuous  Mecklenburgers  the  report  of  the  battle 
of  Lexington  was  a  proclamation  of  the  dissolution  of 
the  union  of  the  colonies  with  Great  Britain. 

Colonel  Thomas  Polk  was  a  born  leader  of  men,  and 
he  was  recognized  as  the  master-spirit  in  the  community 
in  which  he  lived.  From  the  beginning  of  colonial  dis- 
turbances he  had  boldly  advocated  a  policy  of  uncom- 
promising resistance  to  the  encroachments  of  the  British 
ministry.  When  the  quarrel  in  Massachusetts  broke  out 
into  active  hostilities,  he  was  chosen,  in  his  capacity  as 
colonel  of  the  county,  to  call  a  meeting  of  citizens  at  the 
county  seat;  and  it  was  there,  on  May  20,  1775,  that,  in 
presence  of  representative  men  of  the  district,  he  read 
the  paper  known  as  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration,1  pro- 
claiming the  freedom  of  Mecklenburg  from  the  control 
of  Great  Britain.  This  was  a  year  before  the  signing  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  in  Philadelphia. 

News  traveled  slowly  in  those  days.  From  the  Revo- 
lution down  to  the  summer  of  1820  but  one  newspaper 
was  published  in  North  Carolina  west  of  Raleigh.  The 
Continental  Congress,  then  sitting  in  Philadelphia,  was 
not  ready  to  take  official  notice  of  so  bold  an  act  as  the 
Mecklenburg  Declaration,  set  forth,  as  it  had  been,  by  a 
handful  of  militia-men  in  a  remote  corner  of  the  Amer- 
ican settlements.  Indeed,  had  the  members  of  the  Con- 
gress been  unanimously  in  favor  of  independence,  as  at 
that  time  they  certainly  were  not,  it  was  manifestly  ex- 
pedient, until  concert  of  action  could  be  assured,  rather 

1  See  Appendix  to  Chapter  I. 


1775]      THE  MECKLENBURG  DECLARATION.  11 

to  curb  and  ignore  than  to  encourage  radical  proceed- 
ings.1 Hence,  it  is  not  surprising  that  outside  the  county 
in  which  it  originated  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration  was 
hardly  known  until  forty  years  had  passed  away.  It  by 
no  means  follows,  however,  that  the  Declaration  was  not 
actually  read  at  the  time  mentioned.  Those  who  doubt 
its  authenticity  admit  that,  eleven  days  after  its  promul- 
gation on  May  20,  1775,  the  men  of  Mecklenburg,  at  a 
formal  meeting  called  by  Thomas  Polk,  adopted  sundry 
radically  revolutionary  resolutions.2  Yet  it  appears  that, 
more  than  forty  years  later,  neither  Thomas  Jefferson 
nor  John  Adams  had  ever  even  heard  of  these  resolu- 
tions of  May  31st.  The  British  were  better  informed; 
for,  on  the  30th  of  July  in  this  same  year  (1775),  Gov- 
ernor Martin  wrote  to  the  Colonial  Secretary  in  London, 
that  "the  resolves  of  the  Committee  of  Mecklenburg, 
which  your  lordship  will  find  in  the  enclosed  newspaper, 
surpass  all  the  horrid  and  treasonable  publications  the 
inflammatory  spirits  of  this  continent  have  yet  pro- 
duced." Again,  on  the  8th  of  August,  when  aboard  the 
government  cruiser,  Governor  Martin  issued  a  procla- 
mation beginning  with  these  words: 

Whereas,  I  have  seen  a  most  infamous  publication  in  the 
Cape  Fear  Mercury,  importing  to  be  resolves  of  a  set  of  people 
styling  themselves  a  Committee  of  the  County  of  Mecklenburg, 
most  traitorously  declaring  the  entire  dissolution  of  the  laws, 
government,  and  constitution  of  this  country,  and  setting  up 
a  system  of  rule  and  regulation  repugnant  to  the  laws  and  sub- 
versive of  His  Majesty's  Government. 

1  See  Appendix  to  Chapter  I. — John  Adam's  Letter. 

2  See  Bancroft's  "History  of  the  United  States,"  1886,  vol.  iv,  p. 
196.  The  tradition  with  Thomas  Polk's  descendants  is  that  with  his 
aid  these  Resolutions  were  drawn  up  at  his  house  on  the  night  of  May 
30th,  by  Dr.  Ephraim  Brevard,  who  was,  or  soon  after  became,  Polk's 
son-in-law.  See  Appendix  to  Chapter  I  for  copy  of  resolves  of  May 
20  and  May  31. 


12  FIRST  FIELD  SERVICE.  [1775 

Now,  the  perturbed  and  somewhat  hysterical  state  of 
mind  into  which  the  governor  was  thrown  by  the  doings 
of  the  men  of  Mecklenburg  sufficiently  proves  that  the 
revolutionary  spirit  was  active  and  aggressive  among 
them  in  this  month  of  May,  1775.  The  added  testimony 
of  those  who  stood  within  the  sound  of  Thomas  Polk's 
voice  on  May  20th  ought  to  set  at  rest  all  questions  of 
the  genuineness  of  the  resolutions  of  that  date. 

Besides  his  connection  with  the  Mecklenburg  Declara- 
tion Colonel  Polk  was  actively  engaged  in  the  public 
measures  of  his  district  which  had  been  rendered  neces- 
sary by  the  revolt  against  the  Crown.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  committee  which  on  August  24,  1775,  prepared  a 
plan  for  securing  the  internal  peace  and  safety  of  the 
province.  Sept.  9,  1775,  he  was  appointed  colonel 
of  the  second  of  two  batallions  of  minute-men  which 
were  raised  in  the  district  of  Salisbury  under  a  resolu- 
tion of  the  Council  of  the  Province,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  he  was  called  into  the  field.  The  Tories  of  South 
Carolina,  encouraged  by  Sir  William  Campbell,  the  last 
of  the  royal  governors  of  that  colony,  had  enrolled  them- 
selves under  Fletcher,  Cunningham,  and  other  leaders, 
and,  attacking  the  forces  under  Colonel  Williamson  at 
Cambridge  and  at  Ninety-Six,  had  compelled  him  to 
capitulate.  In  this  emergency  the  Council  of  Safety 
ordered  out  General  Richardson's  brigade  and  Colonel 
William  Thompson's  regiment  of  rangers,  and  called 
upon  the  Whigs  of  North  Carolina  to  aid  them  in  crush- 
ing the  Royalists.  The  North  Carolinians  promptly 
responded:  nine  hundred  men,  under  Colonels  Polk, 
Rutherford,  Martin,  and  Graham,  marched  into  South 
Carolina,  and  in  a  severe  engagement  defeated  the  Roy- 
alists. 

The  Provincial  Congress,  which  met  at  Halifax  on 


1776]  SIEGE  OF  CHARLESTON.  13 

April  4,  1776,  placed  the  State  on  a  war  footing 
and  the  militia  was  regularly  organized.  Anticipating 
this  action,  Thomas  Polk  had  taken  steps  already  to 
bring  his  command  to  the  required  standard,  so  that 
when  his  commission  as  Colonel  of  Regulars  in  the 
Continental  line  under  date  of  April  19,  76,  was  re- 
ceived, his  regiment  became  the  Fourth  North  Carolina 
Regulars  and  was  assigned  to  General  Moore's  brigade, 
at  Wilmington.  During  this  formative  period  he  had 
cooperated  with  General  Moore  in  his  successful  move- 
ments against  the  Scotch  Highlanders  on  the  upper 
Cape  Fear  River.  This  colony  was  composed  of  High- 
landers, who  after  their  defeat  at  Culloden  had  been  de- 
ported with  their  heroine,  Flora  McDonald,  and  settled 
on  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Cape  Fear  River.  Their  ardor 
for  the  Stuart  cause  had  been  turned  into  equal  devotion 
to  that  of  the  Hanoverian  king,  for  which,  under  the 
leadership  of  Flora's  husband,  Allan,  they  now  evinced 
a  persistent  readiness  to  fight.  Thomas  Polk  next  took 
part  (June  28th  to  July  4th,  76)  in  the  defense  of 
Charleston,  his  regiment  being  the  corps  from  Mecklen- 
burg which  won  from  the  commanding  General,  Charles 
Lee,  in  his  report  to  the  Virginia  Convention,  the  follow- 
ing mention :  "I  know  not  which  corps  I  have  the  greatest 
reason  to  be  pleased  with — Mecklenburg's,  Virginia's, 
or  the  North  Carolina  troops;  they  are  both  equally 
alert,  zealous  and  spirited."  He  passed  the  winter  with 
his  regiment  at  and  near  Wilmington,  and  in  the  spring 
marched  north  with  the  brigade,  reaching  General 
Washington  in  New  Jersey  the  latter  part  of  June,  77. 
They  were  there  assigned  to  the  division  of  Lord  Ster- 
ling. From  this  date  to  Feb.  10th,  78,  he  was  an  active 
participant  in  all  the  marches,  skirmishes  and  battles 
of  Washington's  Army,  in  which  his  brigade  (now  under 


14  BRANDYWINE  AND  THE  "LIBERTY  BELL."    [1777 

General  Francis  Nash)  took  part.  This  covered  the 
campaigns  against  Howe  for  the  defense  of  Philadelphia; 
first  in  New  Jersey,  and  then  from  the  direction  of  the 
Chesapeake,  including  the  Battle  of  Brandywine,  the 
retreat  to  and  the  evacuation  of  Philadelphia,  and  the 
camp  at  Reading.  Meanwhile  Congress  adjourned,  first 
to  Lancaster  and  then  to  York,  Pa.  The  archives  of 
the  Government,  together  with  army  stores  and  the  bells 
of  the  churches  of  the  city,  and  more  precious  than  all 
these  bells,  the  State  House  Bell  ("The  Liberty  Bell"),  had 
been  transferred  to  Trenton;  but  as  Trenton's  security 
depended  upon  the  Delaware  forts,  Mercer  and  Mifflin, 
which  were  captured  by  the  British  not  long  after, 
Washington  transferred  all  this  impedimenta  as  well  as 
his  heavy  baggage  to  Bethlehem,  Pa.  To  this  duty 
Thomas  Polk  was  assigned.  We  read  of  it  in  the  official 
diaries  of  the  Moravian  Church,  Bethlehem,  Pa.:  "Sept. 
24th,  '77.  The  heavy  baggage  of  the  entire  army 
arrived  directly  from  camp  guarded  by  200  men  under 
Colonel  Polk  of  North  Carolina.  There  were  700 
wagons  in  train,  and  everything  was  unloaded  and 
brought  to  a  place  of  safety.  The  wagons  were  ordered 
to  Trenton  in  order  to  fetch  stores  from  that  place, 
also  to  Bethlehem.  Among  these  stores  were  the  bells 
of  Philadelphia.  The  wagon  containing  the  State 
House  Bell  ("The  Liberty  Bell")  broke  down  in  the 
streets  of  Bethlehem,  so  the  bell  had  to  be  unloaded. 
The  other  bells  were  taken  away."  This  service  sep- 
arated Thomas  Polk  from  the  Army  until  after  the 
Battle  of  Germantown  (Oct.  4th),  where  his  son,  Wil- 
liam Polk,  received  an  ugly  wound.  He  returned  to  the 
Army   later,   and  went  into   camp   at   Valley   Forge.1 

1  The  memorial  tablet  to  this  brigade  at  Valley  Forge  bears  this 
inscription: 


1778] 


VALLEY  FORGE. 


15 


The  brigade,  after  Nash's  death,  was  merged  with 
that  of  General  Mcintosh,  and  as  its  location  was 
quite  near  Army  headquarters,  Thomas  Polk  had  fre- 
quent occasion  to  come  in  contact  with  Washing- 
ton. Naturally  he  gained  some  insight  into  his  char- 
acter and  also  some  knowledge  of  the  intrigues  that 
now  began  to  be  so  openly  carried  on  against  him.  His 
admiration  for  his  commander  was  but  strengthened 
more  and  more,  and  while  Ja te  decreed  he  was  not  to 
remain  directly  under  him  beyond  the  close  of  that 
trying  winter,  ties  were  created  which  Thomas  Polk 
was  enabled  to  renew  in  his  own  home  upon  the  occasion 
of  Washington's  visit  to  Charlotte  ('91). 

An  indication  of  the  sufferings  of  the  army  at  Val- 
ley Forge  may  be  gathered  from  the  field  returns  of 
Thomas  Polk's  regiment  as  made  in  the  brigade  return 
Dec.  20,  77,2  to  wit:     Total  present,  193;  fit  for  duty, 

CONTINENTAL  ARMY 
Valley  Forge,  December  19th,  1777-1778,  June  18th 

Sullivan's  Division 
Major-General  John  Sullivan 

McIntosh  Brigade 
Brigadier-General  Lochlan  Mcintosh,  Commanding 


First  North  Carolina  Infantry 
Colonel  Thomas  Clark 

Second  North  Carolina  Infantry 
Colonel  John  Patton 

Third  North  Carolina  Infantry 
Colonel  Jethro  Sumner 

Fourth  North  Carolina  Infantry 
Colonel  Thomas  Polk 

Fifth  North  Carolina  Infantry 
Lieut.-Colonel  Wm.  L.  Davidson 


Sixth  North  Carolina  Infantry 
Colonel  Gideon  Lamb 

Seventh  North  Carolina  Infantry 
Colonel  James  Hogan 

Eighth  North  Carolina  Infantry 
Colonel  James  Armstrong 

Ninth  North  Carolina  Infantry 
Colonel  John  Williams 


2  Colonial  Records,  N.  Carolina,  vol.  xi,  p.  824. 


16  AGAIN  IN  MECKLENBURG.  [1778 

57;  absent  on  furlough,  7;  unfit  for  duty,  129;  of  which 
103  were  disabled  because  of  sickness  or  due  largely 
to  inadequate  food  and  lack  of  shoes  and  clothing, 
all  in  the  face  of  some  very  cold  weather;  the  re- 
maining 26  are  reported — "  unfit  for  duty  for  want  of 
clothes";  other  regiments  in  the  brigade  showed  any- 
where from  7  to  64  men,  off  duty  only  because  they 
were  without  clothes — a  total  of  164  in  a  brigade  of 
about  1,400  men.  Nakedness  as  well  as  sickness  fought 
with  Washington's  enemies  that  winter.  About  the 
middle  of  February,  '78,  Thomas  Polk  and  Colonel 
Hogan,  of  the  7th,  left  Valley  Forge  under  orders  to 
return  to  North  Carolina,  and  procure  clothing,  shoes 
and  recruits  for  the  State  contingent.  Going  direct 
to  Mecklenburg,  Thomas  Polk  took  up  his  task  with 
characteristic  thoroughness.  Material  was  more  easily 
obtained  just  then  than  men  and  as  he  gathered  it  in 
sufficient  quantity  he  forwarded  it  to  the  State  ren- 
dezvous, to  be  sent  thence  to  the  main  army. 

History  plainly  tells  of  the  deplorable  state  of  affairs 
with  the  Colonists  in  this  spring  of  '78.  Demoraliza- 
tion in  the  Continental  Congress,  the  inefficiency  of 
the  Board  of  War,  the  intrigues  against  Washington 
in  the  interest  of  Gates,  were  all  doing  deadly  work; 
but  the  tide  began  to  turn.  The  French  alliance,  news 
of  which  came  in  March,  was  reassuring;  General  Greene 
had  taken  over  the  duties  of  General  Gates  and  his  in- 
competent War  Board;  recruits,  also  supplies,  and 
milder  weather  were  comimg  forward.  And  yet  com- 
plications were  appearing  elsewhere.  The  Indians 
throughout  the  entire  western  borders,  under  British 
instigation,  were  becoming  restive  and  even  aggressive, 
while  in  the  more  Southern  colonies — Georgia,  North 
and  South  Carolina — the  Loyalists,  from  the  first,  numer- 


1778]  LETTER  TO  WASHINGTON.  17 

ous  and  ably  directed,  had  assumed  an  attitude  which 
under  the  strain  of  the  war  was  steadily  drifting  into 
civil  strife.  This  state  of  affairs  had  become  of  late 
especially  evident  in  the  regions  to  the  south  and  east 
of  Mecklenburg. 

While  carrying  out  his  mission  from  Washington, 
and  no  doubt  studying  the  sinister  conditions  develop- 
ing at  his  own  door,  Thomas  Polk  learned  that  Congress, 
on  May  29th  (78),  had  consolidated  the  regiments  of 
his  brigade;  the  third  with  the  first,  and  the  fourth,  his 
own,  with  the  second;  his  command  thus  passed  from 
him;  but  he  was  continued  in  his  rank  with  authority 
to  raise  a  new  regiment.  A  more  difficult  and  thankless 
task  could  not  be  conceived.  It  met  with  no  sympathy 
from  the  civil  authorities  or  from  the  people.  The 
latter  preferred  the  short  terms  and  less  exacting  disci- 
pline of  the  militia  service;  the  former  sympathized 
with  them,  and  gave  little  aid  to  the  enlistments  in  the 
regular  service.  Prior  to  this,  Thomas  Polk,  learning 
that  he  was  denied  by  the  civil  representatives  of  his 
own  state,  with  whom  such  matters  lay,  the  nomination 
of  Brigadier-General  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the 
death  of  General  Francis  Nash,  a  position  which  was 
his  due,  had  sent  in  his  resignation  to  Gov.  Coswell, 
but  the  Governor  did  not  accept  it.  Now  he  made  it 
direct  to  Washington  himself: 

x" May  it  Please  your  Excellency: 

From  the  earliest  commencement  of  the  present  War,  I  have 
been  actively  engaged  in  the  services  of  my  country.  I  have 
embarqued  in  it  at  so  early  a  season  as  rendered  me  not  a  little 
obnoxious  to  a  vast  majority  of  the  Province  in  which  I  lived. 
The  timid,  the  friends  of  the  established  Government,  and  the 
moderate,  as  they  were  called,  at  that  period,  composed  the 

1  Vol.  xiii,  North  Carolina  Colonial  Records,  p.  451. 


18  RESIGNS  COMMISSION.  [1779 

bulk  of  the  Inhabitants — by  them  was  my  forward  zeal  univer- 
sally condemned.  Thro'  innumerable  difficulties  from  opposi- 
tion, and  inconveniences  to  my  private  interest;  in  the  militia 
and  regular  service  I  continued  my  efforts  for  the  public  good; 
and  doubted  not,  as  I  had'done  more  of  this  kind  for  the  defence 
of  the  State  than  any  other  member  of  it,  that  I  had  deserved 
well  of  my  Country;  but  as  soon  as  an  opening  for  promotion 
was  made  by  the  unhappy  fall  of  Gen'l  Nash,  the  power  of  a 
party,  overlooking  the  merit  of  these  services,  procured  a  rec- 
ommendation in  favour  of  a  Junior  Officer.  Such  a  flagrant 
demonstration  of  partiality  and  injurious  preference,  without 
alledging  a  single  article  of  disqualification  against  me,  has  de- 
termined me  no  longer  to  serve  my  ungrateful  country  in  so 
painful  and  so  hazardous  a  capacity. 

I  rejoice  in  the  prosperity  of  my  country,  and  am  willing, 
on  every  occasion,  to  aid  the  advancement  of  its  interests,  but 
choose  not  to  obtrude  my  services. 

For  these  reasons  I  am  constrained  to  offer  your  Excellency 
my  Commission  in  the  Army,  and  humbly  beg  that  you  would 
kindly  condescend  to  accept  it. 

I  am,  may  it  please  your  Excellency,  with  the  pro- 
foundest  respect,  your  Excellency's  most  hum- 
ble, most  obedient  and  most  devoted  servant 
Thomas  Polk. 

Mecklenburg  County, 

in  the  State  of  N.  Carolina, 
June  26th,  1778. 
His  Excellency,  Gen'l  Washington, 

Commander  in  Chief  of  the  Armies  of  the  United  States." 

This  letter  reveals  a  fairly  human  man  of  that  day  and  gen- 
eration. Thomas  Polk  saw  in  the  action  which  he  thus  re- 
sented, the  return  stroke  for  words  and  no  doubt  deeds  which 
as  a  propagandist  of  the  new  faith  he  had  employed  throughout 
that  country.  The  affair  at  Sugar  Creek  had  brought  him  in 
hostile  contact  with  some  of  his  near  neighbors,  Abram  and 
Hezekiah  Alexander  in  particular.     Moreover,  he  made  no 


1779]  CRITICAL  NEIGHBORS.  19 

friends  in  the  camp  of  the  Regulators;  and  among  the  Loyal- 
ists whom  he  had  done  so  much  to  suppress,  bitter  enemies. 
In  the  main  the  people  were  Scotch  and  very  good  haters. 
An  amusing  (amusing  at  this  distance),  index  of  what  some  felt 
towards  him  is  found  in  "A  modern  poem,  by  the  Mecklenburg 
Censor"  (Hezekiah  Alexander),1  which  was  published  in  77. 
"Squire  Subtle,"  the  Censor,  harangues  Mecklenburg's 
"fantastick  rabble"  paying  attention  to  Thomas  Polk  in  this 
verse,  supposed  to  be  addressed  to  Waightstill  Avery,  one  of 
their  associates. 

"My  wisdom's  power  at  Council  board 
Redeemed  you  from  a  home-bred  Lord, 
Who  else  ere  this  had  stripped  your  skin 
As  bare  as  good  friend  Sulky's  chin." 

Explanatory  notes  by  a  contemporary,  appended  to  the 
manuscript  copy  of  the  poem  in  the  Charleston  Library,  refer 
to  this  verse  as  follows: 

"The  person  here  alluded  to — in  the  mouth  of  Squire 
Subtle  called  a  home-bred  lord — is  Colonel  Thomas 
Polk,  who  is  something  like  the  novus  homo  of  the  Ro- 
mans, having  risen  to  wealth  and  honor  from  a  state 
of  poverty  and  meanness.  He  was  formerly  a  member 
of  assembly  a  number  of  years,  and  has  been  much 
employed  in  public  service,  in  all  of  which  he  was  ever 
mindful  of  his  own  private  emolument.  Some  jealousy 
has  subsisted  between  him  and  Mr.  Alexander,  their 
views  having  not  always  coincided." 

Even  as  late  as  '78,  the  dividing  line  between  Rebel  and 
Loyalist  was  in  many  places  obscured;  and  as  this  popu- 
lation was  in  the  main  homogeneous,  Scotch  and  Scotch- 
Irish,  the  clan  feeling  had  its  influence.  The  possi- 
bilities of  a  personal  grievance  were  not  always  limited 
by  the  loosely  drawn  political  lines  then  existing  in 

1  The  brother  of  Abram  and  J.  McKnitt  Alexander. 


20  MEMBER  BOARD  OF  WAR.  [1780 

many  portions  of  that  country,  consequently  injuries 
inflicted  upon  Tories  or  lukewarm  Rebels  might  find 
avengers  in  either  camp. 

But  Thomas  Polk  did  not  intend  that  such  influences, 
whether  in  power  at  'Hillsboro,  or  even  Philadelphia, 
should  lessen  his  activities.  So  he  promptly  threw  him- 
self into  the  grateful  task  of  upholding  the  faith  in  the 
face  of  the  advances  of  Toryism,  which  in  the  interval 
of  freedom  from  active  war  that  had  come  to  these 
regions  after  the  repulse  of  the  British  at  Charleston, 
was  making  alarming  progress.  For  the  next  two  years 
he  carried  on  the  work  with  characteristic  force  and 
determination,  and  if  to  any  one  man  more  than  to 
another  of  the  Mecklenburg  patriots,  was  due  the  spirit 
of  opposition  encountered  by  Cornwallis  in  and  about 
Charlotte,  Thomas  Polk  was  that  man.  And  the 
"Hornet's  Nest"  which  Tarleton  found  in  Charlotte, 
was  in  no  small  measure  built  upon  his  work.  In  this 
manner,  Thomas  Polk  passed  what  remained  of  '78, 
all  of  79,  and  half  of  '80.  In  this  year  we  find  him  a 
member  of  the  Provincial  War  Board.  Meanwhile 
Charleston  and  Savannah  had  been  captured  and  the 
British  were  fast  getting  possession  of  Georgia  and  South 
Carolina.1 

After  -the  fall  of  the  capital  of  South  Carolina  in  May 
1780,  the  organization  of  an  army  for  the  general  defense 
of  the  southern  States  was  entrusted  by  Congress  to 

1  Extracts  from  "Wheeler's  Reminiscences  of  North  Carolina," 
from  the  archives  at  Raleigh  and  the  Moravian  Records  at  Bethlehem, 
Penn.,  relative  to  Thomas  Polk's  services  in  the  Revolution,  reach 
nearly  to  the  periods  of  Gates's  administration  of  the  Southern  Depart- 
ment. Wheeler's  statements  concerning  this  later  period  are  evidently 
incorrect.  See  the  "Papers  of  Major-General  Gates"  in  possession 
of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  the  "Papers  of  Major-General 
Greene"  in  possession  of  George  W.  Greene,  of  Rhode  Island,  and  the 
collection  of  Dr.  Thos.  Addis  Emmet,  New  York  City. 


1780]         COMMISSARY-GENERAL  FOR  GATES.         21 

General  Gates.  As  in  all  armies,  so  especially  in  this, 
the  most  pressing  want  was  an  efficient  commissariat. 
During  his  ill-judged  and  ill-timed  march  through  a 
barren  country  to  Camden,  where  he  more  than  suf- 
ficiently tested  the  ability  of  his  men  to  march  and  to 
fight  without  food,  Gates  sought  out  Thomas  Polk,  and, 
through  Thomas  Pinckney,  the  aide  of  Baron  de  Kalb, 
offered  him,  August  3d,  the  double  position  of  Commis- 
sary-General for  the  State  and  Commissary  of  Purchase 
for  the  army.1  This  offer  Polk  accepted,  but  almost  be- 
fore the  ink  was  dry  upon  his  letter  of  acceptance  Gates 
arrived  at  Charlotte  in  hot  haste  from  the  field  of  Cam- 
den, and  without  so  much  as  a  corporal's  guard.  Char- 
lotte was  a  point  of  some  strategic  importance.  It  was 
the  center  of  one  of  the  best  provisioned  districts  of  the 
country,  and  the  people  were  generally  loyal  to  the  col- 
onists. It  was  natural,  therefore,  to  suppose  that  the 
General  would  halt  there,  and  endeavor  to  organize  at 
least  a  show  of  resistance  to  the  enemy.  Such  a  course 
would  have  strengthened  the  Continental  cause,  and 
would  certainly  have  increased  the  influence  of  Gates; 
but  with  scarcely  more  than  a  moment's  pause  he  aban- 
doned Charlotte  and  hurried  across  the  State  to  Hills- 
boro,  where  the  seat  of  State  government  then  was. 

The  effect  of  the  defeat  at  Camden  was  deplorable; 
and  when  the  people  of  Charlotte  saw  the  general  who 
had  been  sent  to  them  by  Congress  flying  even  before 
the  enemy  had  approached,  their  dissatisfaction  and 
disgust  were  loudly  expressed.  But  their  spirit  was  not 
broken,  and  even  after  the  defeat  and  dispersion  of 
Sumter's  command,  which  occurred  below  Charlotte  two 
days  after  the  defeat  at  Camden,  they  were  still  resolute 
and  ready  to  resume  the  conflict.     Sept.  10th,  Thomas 

1  "Gates  Papers,"  Doc.  132,  vol.  xvii. 


22  THE  HORNET'S  NEST.  [1780 

Polk,  learning  positively  that  Cornwallis  with  about 
1,000  men  was  then  near  Hanging  Rock,  advancing, 
reported  from  Charlotte  the  facts  to  Gates  and  sug- 
gested that  he  throw  troops  in  his  rear  and  tells  him, 
"We  intend  to  meet  them  and  ' scrimmage '  with  them, 
and  hope  for  relief  from  you  as  soon  as  possible."  l  Vain 
hope. 

The  confusion  and  distress  at  Charlotte  in  this  critical 
juncture  are  well  described  in  Ramsay's  "History  of 
South  Carolina."  The  British  were  hourly  expected. 
The  proclamation  fulminated  by  Cornwallis  at  Waxhaw 
on  September  16th  against  the  patriots  of  South  Caro- 
lina, supported  as  it  was  by  the  well-known  violence  of 
his  soldiery,  convinced  the  people  that  they  could  assure 
their  safety  only  by  submission  or  flight,  and  among 
those  who  fled  was  the  family  of  Thomas  Polk.  The 
men  of  Mecklenburg,  supported  by  the  militia  from  the 
counties  of  Rowan,  Lincoln,  Surrey,  and  Wilkes,  pre- 
pared for  a  contest  with  Lord  Cornwallis's  well-appointed 
army  of  regulars. 

On  September  26th  Cornwallis  entered  Charlotte,  and 
made  his  headquarters  at  the  White  House,  as  Colonel 
Polk's  dwelling,  the  only  painted  edifice  in  the  town,  was 
called;  and  one  of  the  first  acts  of  the  general  was  to 
seize  and  confiscate  all  of  the  property  of  his  involuntary 
host  that  could  be  found.  Polk,  meanwhile,  was  actively 
engaged  in  organizing  resistance  and  securing  supplies 
for  the  American  army,  often  by  the  pledge  of  his  own 
credit.  It  was  no  easy  task,  but  he  lost  neither  faith  nor 
courage;  and  at  the  first  glimpse  of  good  fortune — 
King's  Mountain — he  wrote  as  follows  to  the  Board  of 
War: 

1  Colonial  Records,  N.  Carolina,  vol.  xiv,  p.  606.     Gates  Letter 
Book,  Doc.  28  and  31. 


1780]  KING'S  MOUNTAIN.  23 

^amp,  Yadkin  River,  October  11,  1780. 
Gentlemen:  I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  on  Satur- 
day last  the  noted  Colonel  Ferguson  with  150  men  fell  on  King's 
Mountain;  800  taken  prisoners,  and  1500  stand  of  arms. 
Cleaveland  and  Campbell  commanded.  A  glorious  affair. 
In  a  few  days  we  will  be  in  Charlotte,  and  I  will  take  possession 
of  my  house,  and  his  lordship  take  the  woods. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  with  respect, 

Your  humble  servant, 
Thos.  Polk. 
To  the  Board  of  War,  Hillsboro. 

As  Thomas  Polk  predicted,  Cornwallis  soon  with- 
drew from  Charlotte  (Oct.  12th) ,  his  purpose  being  to 
counteract  in  some  way  Ferguson's  disaster.  His  de- 
parture was  furthered  by  the  local  forces  under  David- 
son and  Graham,  who,  contesting  his  entrance  to  the  town, 
had  persistently  harassed  him  throughout  the  occupa- 
tion. General  Gates  meanwhile  had  received  a  small 
reinforcement  of  regular  troops  under  General  Small- 
wood  and  had  succeeded  in  gathering  together  some 
of  the  militia.  The  best  of  them  were  placed  under 
Small  wood, .  who,  with  his  force  thus  augmented,  was 
posted  at  New  Providence  to  the  south  of  Charlotte. 
The  balance  of  the  militia,  under  Generals  Butler,  Jones, 
and  Huger,  were  assembled  at  Salisbury  to  the  north. 
Thomas  Polk  as  General  Commissary  was  charged  with 
the  duty  of  feeding  both  commands.  It  was  not  an 
easy  task,  however.2  Owing  to  the  ravages,  first  of  the 
British,  and  then  of  the  militia,  the  entire  country  in 

1  Colonial  Records,  N.  Carolina,  vol.  xv,  p.  414. 

2  Colonial  Records,  North  Carolina.  Gates  Papers,  New  York 
Historical  Society.  Greene  Papers.  Greene's  Letters  to  Washington 
and  Continental  Congress.  Appendix  to  Life  of  General  Greene,  by 
G.  W.  Greene. 


24  ISSUE  WITH  GATES.  [1780 

this  quarter  of  North  Carolina,  as  well  as  in  the  adjacent 
section  of  South  Carolina,  was  well  nigh  stripped  of 
supplies,  transportation  was  scarce  and  General  Gates's 
war  chest  very  meagre.  To  meet  pressing  wants  the 
State  government  had  imposed  a  -provision  tax,  and 
appointed  its  own  commissioners  to  assess  and  gather 
it.  Upon  these  officers  Thomas  Polk  had  to  depend 
to  fulfill  his  task,  but  so  many  and  great  were  the  com- 
plications and  delays  encountered  he  asked  permission 
to  select  his  own  agents  for  whom  he  would  be  respon- 
sible, both  to  the  tax  department  and  to  the  army. 
But  this  was  refused.1 

Embarrassment  must  also  have  come  from  the  dual 
nature  of  Thomas  Polk's  responsibility,  for  he  seems 
to  have  been  accountable  both  to  General  Gates  and 
the  provincial  Board  of  War.  The  situation,  as  a 
whole,  resulted  in  insufficiency  of  supplies,  and  a 
clash  with  Gates  and  the  generals  of  the  militia  at 
Salisbury. 

Early  in  November  Gates  moved  forward  his  head- 
quarters to  Salisbury;  en  route  he  received  from  Small- 
wood  a  report  as  to  his  command,  dated  New  Providence, 
Oct.  31st;  he  wrote:  "Since  my  last,  nothing  material 
has  occurred  except  a  great  scarcity  of  provisions.  Col. 
Polk  has  not  even  supplied  the  regular  troops;  our  prin- 
cipal subsistence  has  been  brought  in  by  detachments, 
which  they  took  from  the  disaffected  who  have  gone 
over  to  the  enemy,  and  I  have  now  not  less  than  two 
hundred  men  employed  on  that  duty,  which  is  the  only 
prospect  of  supplying  the  troops  till  the  late  Provision 
Act  for  collecting  a  specific  tax  in  provision  is  more 
effectually  carried  into  execution,  which  I  fear  at  last 

1  Colonial  Records,  North  Carolina.  Letter  Book  Board  of  War, 
Sept.  15th  and  25th,  Oct.  5th,  Nov.  6th,  et  al.,  1780. 


1780]  ISSUE  WITH  GATES.  25 

will  not  afford  an  ample  supply,  in  addition  to  what 
purchases  can  be  made."  *  A  similar  complaint,  no 
doubt,  met  Gates  at  Salisbury,  for  in  a  letter  (also  Oct. 
31st)  to  the  Board  of  War,  Small  wood  wrote  more 
specifically:  "Col.  Polk  refuses  to  supply  any  but  the 
regular  troops,  and  is  unwilling  to  be  concerned  under 
the  act  for  levying  the  specific  provision  tax,  unless  he 
has  the  appointment  of  the  commissioners  with  whom 
he  is  to  be  connected,  urging  that  those  appointed  under 
the  act  are  incompetent  to  the  task,  and  that  there 
will  be  great  difficulty  in  settling  their  accounts,  which 
may  eventually  involve  him."2 

It  is  difficult  to  find  in  this  complaint  sufficient  ground 
for  the  action  Gates  and  his  Generals  of  militia  now  took. 
Nov.  12th,  '80,  they  addressed  a  paper  to  the  provincial 
Board  of  War,  charging,  without  specifications,  that  the 
"conduct  of  Col.  Polk  is  suspicious,"  and  recommend- 
ing that  he  be  ordered  to  Salisbury  to  answer  for  his 
conduct.  The  next  day  Gates  wrote  Smallwood  in 
answer  to  the  letter  of  October  3 1  st : 3  "A  board  of  general 
officers  who  yesterday  morning  met  at  my  quarters, 
have  given  it  as  their  unanimous  opinion  that  Colonel 
Polk  should  be  immediately  obliged  to  answer  for 
his  conduct.  *  *  *  I  am  astonished  at  what  you 
mention  in  regard  to  Colonel  Polk's  refusing  to  supply 
the  Continental  troops  with  provisions."  To  this  Small- 
wood,  still  at  New  Providence,  replied  Nov.  16th:4 
"You  must  have  mistaken  my  letter  or  there  was  an 
error  made  in  transcribing  with  respect  to  Colonel 
Polk's  refusing  to  supply  the  Continental  troops,  which 

1  Gates  Papers,  New  York  Historical  Society,  Doc.  198. 

3  Ibid. 

3  Gates  Letter  Book,  Doc.  155. 

*  Gates  Papers,  Doc.  198. 


26  ISSUE  WITH  GATES.  [1780 

I  could  not  have  been  justified  in  saying;  and  from  the 
original  it  will  appear  that  provisions  was  so  scarce 
that  they  had  suffered  by  his  not  fully  supplying  them, 
which  at  that  time  was  really  the  case,  both  with  them 
and  the  militia.  But  to  prevent  any  misunderstanding, 
have  enclosed  you  such  extracts  from  my  letters  of  the 
31st  ulto,  to  you  and  the  Board  of  War,  as  respects  his 
conduct,  and  in  justice  to  him  the  army  here  since  has 
been  better  supplied,  and  I  only  then  thought  him 
wrong  in  refusing  to  supply  the  militia,  and  to  super- 
intend and  spur  on  the  commissioners  in  their  duty,— 
finding  at  the  time  the  army  suffered,  it  was  much 
owing  to  the  corn  being  too  green  to  be  gathered  or 
ground  in  any  quantity." 

The  day  this  letter  was  written  at  New  Providence, 
Polk  reported  himself  to  Gates  at  Salisbury.  Gates 
therefore  had  but  the  letter  of  Oct.  31st  before  him, 
into  which,  as  the  letter  of  Nov.  16th  was  soon  to  show 
him,  he  had  read  far  more  than  could  be  maintained  or 
justified.  The  result  of  the  interview  appears  in  the 
following  letter  by  Gates  to  the  Board  of  War: 


Salisbury,  17th  November,  1780. 
Sirs:  Colonel  Polk  arrived  here  yesterday.  I  showed  him 
General  Smallwood's  letter  complaining  of  his  not  supplying 
provisions  even  to  the  Continental  troops.  I  acquainted  him 
also  that  his  conduct  was  deemed  doubtful  and  suspicious,  and 
requested  to  know  if  I  might  depend  upon  his  continuing  to 
act  as  commissary  to  the  troops.  He  said,  since  he  found  his 
countryman  suspected  his  fidelity,  he  would  no  longer  act  as 
commissary,  than  until  he  had  delivered  500  beeves  and  1,000 
bushels  of  corn,  which  he  had  now  collected;  when  that  was 
done  he  desired  it  might  be  understood  he  resigned  his  office. 


1780]  THE  COMING  OF  GREENE.  27 

Enclosed  you  have  his  letters  to  that  effect — what  is  now  to 
be  done — "  ■ 

This  correspondence  fully  explains  the  nature  of  the 
clash  between  General  Gates  and  Thomas  Polk,  and 
shows  that  in  spite  of  his  doubts  and  suspicions,  which 
Smallwood's  second  letter  was  soon  to  prove  wholly 
unwarranted,  he  wished  still  to  depend  upon  Polk  as 
commissary  to  the  troops.  The  Board  of  War,  knowing 
better  than  Polk's  accusers  the  actual  situation,  refused 
to  take  up  the  charge,  and  later  declined  to  accept  the 
resignation  he  had  handed  Gates  as  his  answer  to  the 
complaint  and  charges.  Gates's  mental  state  just  then 
was  quite  uncertain.  He  must  have  known  he  was  to 
be  superseded  and  that  his  military  career  was  about 
ending;  perhaps  he  still  resented  some  remarks  made 
to  him  by  Polk,  when  Gates,  fleeing  from  Camden,  de- 
clined to  stop  at  Charlotte,  as  Polk  suggested  he  should, 
in  order  to  give  heart  to  the  militia,  then  gathering  to 
oppose  and  harass  the  advancing  British. 

Thomas  Polk's  resignation  having  been  declined,  he 
continued  his  duties  until  the  end  of  Gates's  administra- 
tion. This  soon  came,  for  the  new  commander,  General 
Greene,  reached  Charlotte  on  December  2d.  He  spent 
the  first  night  with  Thomas  Polk  studying  the  condi- 
tion of  affairs.  Polk's  comment  upon  the  interview 
was  this:  "By  the  following  morning  Greene  better 
understood  the  resources  of  the  country  than  Gates 
had  during  the  whole  period  of  his  command."  2 

Affairs  in  the  Department  of  the  South  began  now 
to  fulfill  the  promise  of  King's  Mountain.  General 
Greene  asked  Thomas  Polk  to  continue  his  duties  as 
before  and  such  was  Polk's  respect  and  confidence  in 

1  Gates  Letter  Book,  Doc.  164,  N.  Y.  Historical  Society. 

1  Elkanah  Watson's  Men  and  Times  of  the  Revolution,  p.  259. 


28  MAJOR  WILLIAM  DAVIE.  [1781 

him  he  reluctantly  declined  the  part  of  commissary  for 
the  forces  in  the  field,  but  retained  that  of  district  com- 
missary. For  the  more  important  part  he  urged  upon 
General  Greene,  Major  William  Davie,  an  able,  ener- 
getic, and  much  younger  man.  Davie  fulfilled  all  Polk 
predicted  for  him.  Greene  made  the  appointment  and 
secured  one  of  his  most  efficient  officers.  The  duties 
of  a  field  commissary  in  such  work  as  was  cut  out  for 
Greene's  forces  were  too  heavy  for  a  man  at  Polk's  age 
— about  -58 — and  he  so  said;  but  doubtless,  as  General 
Greene  realized,  there  were  home  duties  which  just  then 
were  pressing.  Cornwallis  had  looted  his  home  arid 
destroyed  other  belongings,  his  wife  and  daughters 
needed  attention,  and  he  was  the  only  one  who  could 
aid  them,  all  his  sons  being  in  the  army  and  his  son-in- 
law,  Ephraim  Brevard,  a  prisoner  on  a  prison  ship  at 
Charleston,  where  he  was  suffering  conditions  which 
were  soon  to  end  his  life. 

Thomas  Polk's  constant  use  of  his  own  credit  in  the 
purchase  of  supplies  for  the  army  is  amply  attested 
in  his  letters  to  General  Greene  of  January  14th  and 
March  1st,  1781.1 .  He  writes:  "For  want  of  cash  to 
comply  with  my  former  contracts  for  provisions,  I  am 
under  the  unusual  as  well  as  disagreeable  necessity 
of  being  personally  dunned.  Upon  receiving  Major- 
General  Gates's  appointment,  he  assured  me  of  always 
being  sufficiently  supplied  with  money,  to  answer  the 
purpose  of  my  appointment,  upon  which  promise  I 
advanced  my  own  money,  and  exerted  my  credit  for 
the  amount  of  at  least  Eleven  Hundred  Thousand  £ 
of  provisions  already  delivered  to  the  army.  I  received 
from  General  Gates  two  drafts  on  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia for  little  more  than  Three  Hundred  Thousand 

1  Greene  Papers. 


1781]  COMMISSARY  AND  RECRUITING  OFFICER.  29 

each,  one  only  of  which  is  yet  answered  or  paid.  After 
the  other  is  paid  the  sales  will  owe  me  about  Five  Hun- 
dred Thousand"  (Continental  money).  Finding  the 
money  could  not  be  obtained  he  wrote  that  he  would 
sell  some  of  his  negroes  and  from  his  own  pocket  pay 
the  public  debt  contracted  through  him  as  he  "could 
not  bear  to  be  dunned. "  The  man's  independence  and 
integrity  of  character,  his  incessant  efforts  to  collect 
supplies,  and  his  services  in  forwarding  men  and  mate- 
rial to  the  army  are  incidentally  illustrated  throughout 
this  entire  correspondence.1 

To  his  duties  as  commissary  Thomas  Polk  voluntarily 
added  those  of  recruiting  officer.  Riding  from  house  to 
house  throughout  the  counties  of  western  North  and 
South  Carolina,  he  gathered  provisions  and  preached  a 
crusade  against  the  British.  No  one  in  all  that  region 
did  more  to  revive  the  drooping  spirits  of  the  Whig  col- 
onists, and  no  one  sent  so  large  a  number  of  recruits, 
either  to  Sumter's  command  or  to  the  regular  forces 
serving  with  General  Greene.  His  spirit  is  shown  in 
a  letter  to  General  Greene,  dated  March  1, 1781,  and  writ- 
ten from  Charlotte  at  the  most  trying  period  of  the  war 
in  the  South.  Greene  had  been  driven  into  Virginia; 
the  Carolinas  lay  at  the  mercy  of  Cornwallis,  Tarleton, 
and  Rawdon;  prominent  men  in  both  of  the  Carolinas 
had  despaired  of  the  success  of  the  colonists,  and  were 
accepting  protection,  with  all  that  the  act  involved,  from 
the  British  authorities.  It  was  then  that  Polk,  reporting 
the  state  of  affairs  about  Charlotte  and  the  details  of  his 
own  work,  wrote:2 

I  received  yours  of  the  16th  on  Saturday  the  24th,  and  am 
much  distressed  at  your  being  obliged  to  retreat  as  soon  as 
you  have.    But  it  is  certainly  the  salvation  of  our  country 
1  Greene  Papers.  2  Ibid. 


30  SUCCESSOR  TO  DAVIDSON.  [1781 

for  you  not  to  run  any  risks  with  your  army.  For  while  you 
are  safe  the  British  cannot  occupy  nor  possess  any  part  of  our 
country  but  what  is  inside  of  their  sentries  or  lines. 

General  Greene  wished  to  avail  himself  of  Polk's  ser- 
vices in  the  field,  and  on  the  death  of  General  Davidson 
of  the  Salisbury  district,  who  was  killed  at  Cowan's 
Ford,  the  field-officers  of  the  district  having  requested 
that  Polk  should  be  appointed  to  command  them,1 
Greene  sent  him  a  commission  couched  in  words  which 
bear  full  testimony  to  his  confidence  in  the  man: 

Reposing  special  trust  in  your  wisdom,  patriotism,  and 
valor,  I  do  hereby  appoint  you,  agreeable  to  the  field-officers 
of  Salisbury  district,  and  by  virtue  of  powers  lodged  in  my 
hands  for  the  time  being,  Brigadier-General  of  the  said  dis- 
trict and  commanding  officer  of  all  militia  in  the  same. 2 

This  command  had  done  excellent  service  under 
General  Davidson.     General  Greene  expected  that  it 

1  A  petition  of  the  field-officers  of  the  District  of  Salisbury,  now  in 
service.     To  General  Greene. 

Camp  Sheroes,  March  5,  1778. 
Sir:  We,  the  subscribers,  considering  the  critical  situation  of  our 
country,  and  the  difficulties  our  District  have  labored  under  for  want 
of  a  commanding  officer  since  the  fall  of  General  Davidson,  do  offer 
this  humble  petition  that  another  be  appointed  in  his  room.  And  as 
we  repose  special  confidence  in  Col.  Thomas  Polk,  of  Mecklenburg 
County,  as  a  gentleman  qualified  for  such  an  important  trust,  it  is  our 
request  that  he  be  appointed  to  take  the  command  of  the  above  district. 
Your  compliance  with  this  our  request  will  lay  under  lasting  obli- 
gations your  humble  petitioners, 

Jos.  Dickson,  Col. 
Jas.  Martin,  Col. 
Jos.  Williams,  Lieut.-Col. 
John  Peasl  ?* 
Jos.  ?* 

♦These  two  names  are  incomplete,  the  MS.  being  torn. 
1  Polk  Papers,  Library  of  Congress,  W.,  D.  C. 
1  Ibid. 


1781]  AGAIN  IN  THE  FIELD.  31 

would  be  continued  under  Polk  and  that  he  would  join 
him  in  the  pursuit  of  Cornwallis  after  the  battle  of 
Guilford,  all  of  which  he  wrote  Polk,  March  22d.*  Polk 
already  had  gathered  a  force  with  which  to  oppose 
Cornwallis  on  his  expected  return.  But  the  assembly 
would  not  confirm  the  appointment  as  made  by  Greene, 
sending  Polk  instead  that  of  "  Colonel  Commandant." 
Polk  returned  this  commission  to  Gov.  Nash,  calling  his 
attention  to  the  fact  that  it  was  proper  he  should  have 
the  same  rank  as  his  predecessor;  a  proper  step  in  view 
of  the  request  from  the  command  and  the  terms  of  his 
appointment  by  Greene;  but  Gov.  Caswell  and  his  sup- 
porters were  opposed  to  the  promotion  in  the  State 
Militia,  of  officers  of  the  Continental  line  who  had  been 
dropped  in  the  consolidations.  Pending  the  settlement 
of  this  question,  Polk  at  first  declined  to  act,  but  after 
an  interview  with  General  Greene  he  continued  the  duties 
of  the  position.  Meanwhile  many  of  the  men  had 
joined  Sumter's  command,  some  150  being  in  the  4th 
South  Carolina,  his  son's  regiment,  and  the  others  widely 
scattered.  By  the  middle  of  May,  however,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  the  command  ready  for  field  service, 
but  he  was  then  relieved.  This  fact  he  reports  to  Gen- 
eral Greene  in  the  following  letter: 

Salisbury,  May  15th,  1781. 
To  Major-General  Greene: 

Sir:  An  express  arrived  at  Salisbury  the  15th  from  Governor 
Nash,  giving  Colonel  Locke  ■  the  command,  therefore  my  orders 
will  be  no  more  obeyed.  I  have  been  to  all  the  counties  but 
those  over  the  mountains,  Surrey  and  Gifford.  The  new  arms 
and  accoutrements  will  be  nearly  ready  in  about  eight  days. 

1  Greene  Papers. 

2  Not  Col.  Geo.  Locke.     He  was  killed  Sept.  26th,  opposing  Tarle- 
ton  in  front  of  Charlotte. 


32  COMMANDER  OF  BRIGADE.  [1781 

The  ammunition  in  the  wagons  at  this  place  must  furnish  the 
men.    Anything  in  my  power  is  at  your  call. 

I  am,  Sir,  with  great  esteem, 

Your  humble  servant, 
Thomas  Polk. 

General  Greene,  .however,  would  not  accept  this  dis- 
position of  the  matter,  and  continued  to  urge  Polk's 
appointment  upon  the  assembly,  upon  Governor  Nash, 
and  afterwards  upon  Governor  Burke,  who  succeeded 
Nash.  In  reply  to  a  letter  from  Greene,  dated  August 
5,  1781,  requesting  Polk's  appointment,  Governor  Burke 
wrote  as  follows,  under  date  of  August  15: 

I  am  sensible  that  the  commandant  of  that  district  [Salis- 
bury] is  a  very  important  office,  and  requires  a  character  such 
as  you  describe,  firm,  active,  having  the  art  of  compelling 
others  to  do  their  duty,  and  were  I  at  liberty  to  make  an 
appointment  pursuant  to  my  own  judgment,  I  should  not 
hesitate  on  choosing  the  gentleman  you  mention,  believing  him 
possessed  of  knowledge,  experience,  and  industry  beyond  any 
officer  I  know  in  the  district.  But  this  is  an  affair  that  re- 
quires to  be  attentively  surveyed  with  the  eye  of  wisdom  and 
policy.1 

The  concluding  sentence  of  this  letter  refers,  no  doubt, 
to  a  hint  found  in  Greene's  letter,  to  the  effect  that 
"Popular  characters  at  this  period  of  the  war  are  no 
longer  useful,"  an  idea  Burke  further  elaborated  in  the 
following  letter  to  General  Butler,  of  Aug.  15,  '81 : 

Sir:  I  have  this  morning  received  a  letter  from  General 
Greene,  dated  on  the  High  Hills  of  Santee,  August  2d,  and 
another  on  the  5th.  In  both  he  expresses  great  surprise  and 
uneasiness  that  Colonel  Locke  has  not  marched  the  militia 
direct  from  Salisbury  to  reinforce  the  southern  army.  He 
very  strenuously  urges  the  necessity  of  the  reinforcement  for 

» Letter  Book,  1774-1781,  Governor's  Office,  Raleigh,  N.  C. 


1781]  COLONEL  DAVID  FANNING.  33 

enabling  him  to  oppose  the  enemy  and  check  their  operations, 
should  they  move  up  to  establish  posts  of  communication  on 
the  Congaree  and  the  Wateree  rivers,  which  plan  he  believes 
they  have  in  contemplation.  In  the  letter  of  the  5th  he  says 
that  by  intelligence  from  Charlotte  he  learns  that  the  militia 
who  were  called  out  in  Salisbury  District  have  been  disbanded 
over  the  road  as  low  as  the  Waxhaw,  and  are  now  returning 
to  their  respective  homes  without  any  officer  to  collect  and 
bring  them  on.  He  very  plainly  suggests  a  want  of  military 
competency  in  Colonel  Locke,  and  his  wish  that  Colonel  Polk, 
whom  he  believes  possessed  of  talents  more  useful  for  the 
present  occasion,  should  be  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
district.  The  superseding  an  officer  of  Colonel  Locke's  rank 
without  inquiry  or  trial  might  prove  an  act  from  which  might 
result  very  troublesome  consequences;  but  to  leave  affairs 
of  such  importance,  at  such  a  crisis,  under  management  which 
has  hitherto  been  so  unsuccessful,  is  entirely  inadmissible. 
I  must  therefore,  though  very  unwilling  to  put  upon  you 
an  arduous  or  disagreeable  service,  or  to  spare  your  services 
from  other  important  operations,  request  you,  as  soon  as 
possible,  to  take  command  of  the  whole  force  which  has  been 
called  out  for  reinforcing  the  southern  army,  and  to  march  them 
with  all  dispatch  to  join  General  Greene.1 

While  Governor  Burke  was  penning  these  orders, 
" troublesome  consequences,"  due  to  the  inefficiency 
of  the  militia,  were  brewing  at  his  very  door.  In  less 
than  a  month  (September  12th),2  Col.  David  Fan- 
ning, that  able  and  distinguished  loyalist  leader,  with 
a  force  of  1,220  men  captured  Hillsboro  and  all  it 
contained,  including  the  Governor  and  his  guards;  and 
in  spite  of  General  Butler  and  the  militia,  delivered  them 
to  the  British  commander  at  Wilmington.  Alexander 
Martin  now  became  Governor,  and  we  find  that  Thomas 

1  "Letter  Book,"  1774-1781,  Governor's  Office,  Raleigh,  N.  C. 
1  Page  24.     Col.  David  Farming's  interesting  Narrative. 


34  BRIGADIER-GENERAL  POLK.  [1781 

Polk  with  his  remaining  followers  joined  General  Greene 
at  Rugely's  Mills  shortly  after  the  affair  of  Hobkirk's 
Hill,  where  he  remained  watching  the  movements  of  the 
British  and  Tories  until  the  expiration  of  the  term  of 
service  of  his  men.  This  appears  to  have  been  Thomas 
Polk's  last  service  in  the  field,  and  the  one  in  which  he 
was  conceded  the  rank  of  General,  already  accorded  him 
by  General  Greene. 

At  last  the  tide  of  war  receded  to  the  low  countries  of 
South  Carolina,  and  peace  soon  followed.  The  people  of 
the  scattered  American  colonies  were  left  to  form  their 
new  governments  and  repair  the  ravages  of  war.  To 
these  tasks  Thomas  Polk  now  turned  with  characteristic 
energy,  but  his  later  life  offers  few  incidents  of  interest. 
One,  however,  will  be  mentioned.  When  General  Wash- 
ington, making  his  tour  through  the  South,  came  to 
Charlotte,  Thomas  Polk  was  selected  to  entertain  him 
at  dinner,  and  his  house  was  chosen  as  the  place  at 
which  the  General  also  received  the  enthusiastic  ovation 
given  him  by  the  people  at  the  conclusion  of  the  feast, 
May  28,  '91 .  The  last  historic  notice  of  him  is  found  in 
Elkanah  Watson's  "Men  and  Times  of  the  Revolution." 
On  page  259  he  says:  " I  carried  letters  to  the  courteous 
General  Polk,  and  remained  two  days  at  his  residence  in 
the  delightful  society  of  his  charming  family."  He  lived 
to  an  honored  old  age,  surrounded  by  his  sons,  whom  he 
had  reared  to  an  honorable  and  self-reliant  manhood. 
He  died  at  Charlotte  January  26,  1794,  and  is  buried 
in  the  Presbyterian  churchyard. 

For  fifty  years  the  name  of  Thomas  Polk  remained,  as 
he  had  left  it,  free  from  reproach.  Then  Mr.  Lossing, 
gathering  material  for  his  "Field-Book  of  the  Rev- 
olution," visited  Charlotte,  and  was  told  by  a  Mr.  Cald- 
well that  Thomas  Polk  had  taken  "protection"  from 


1854]  A  HISTORICAL  ERROR.  35 

Lord  Cornwallis.  This  statement,  if  it  had  been  true, 
would  imply  that  Polk  had  remained  in  Charlotte  dur- 
ing its  occupation  by  the  British,  and  that  he  had  made 
his  submission  and  secured  protection  for  his  person  and 
property.  Finding  among  the  "Gates  Papers,"  in  the 
New  York  Historical  Society  collection,  a  letter  to  the 
State  Board  of  War,  dated  November  12, 1780,  which  in- 
timated that  Thomas  Polk's  conduct  was  considered  sus- 
picious, Mr.  Lossing  accepted  it  as  a  sufficient  proof  of 
Caldwell's  statement,  and  published  it  as  such.1 

Bishop  Leonidas  Polk,  grandson  of  Thomas  Polk, 
wrote  Mr.  Lossing  of  his  mistake,  and  received  in  reply 
a  prompt  and  courteous  acknowledgment  of  the  error. 
The  correspondence  is  given  below. 

Bishop  Polk  to  Mr.  Lossing. 

May  20,  1854. 
Mr.  B.  J.  Lossing: 

Dear  Sir:  A  friend  yesterday  called  my  attention  to  the  fol- 
lowing on  page  625,  1st  vol.  of  your  "Pictorial  Field-Book  of 
the  Revolution,"  to  wit:  "Hundreds  who  were  stanch  patriots 
came  forward  and  accepted  protection  from  Cornwallis,  for 
they  saw  no  other  alternative  but  that  and  the  ruin  of  their 
families.  Among  them  was  Colonel  Thomas  Polk,  who  there- 
by incurred  the  suspicions  of  his  countrymen,"  etc. 

As  a  descendant  of  the  individual  here  mentioned,  you  will, 
I  presume,  recognize  my  right  to  ask  you  to  furnish  me  the 
evidence  upon  which  you  here  state  that  Colonel  Thomas 
Polk  "took  protection"  from  Cornwallis. 

I  observe  what  is  said  in  the  note  upon  the  same  page  as 
to  the  order  issued  by  Gates,  and  said  to  be  found  in  the 
archives  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  of  the  motives 
leading  to  which  I  have  some  knowledge,  but  you  will  per- 

1  This  is  the  paper  considered  on  pages  24  to  27. 


36  THE  ERROR  ACKNOWLEDGED.  [1854 

ceive  the  insinuations  contained  in  that  order  do  not  cover 
the  ground  occupied  by  your  statements. 
Your  reply  will  oblige, 

Respectfully, 
Leonidas  Polk. 

Mr.  Lossing  to  Bishop  Polk. 

Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  June  12,  1854. 
Rt.  Rev.  Leonidas  Polk: 

My  dear  Sir:  On  my  return  home,  after  a  short  absence,  I 
found  your  letter  of  the  20th  May,  forwarded  to  me  by  Messrs. 
Harper  &  Bros. 

I  had  already  received  letters  from  North  Carolina  on  the 
subject  referred  to  in  yours,  in  which  are  ample  proofs  that 
the  inference  in  the  paragraph  alluded  to  is  not  warranted  by 
real  facts,  however  much  it  appears  to  be  sustained  by  the 
order  signed  by  Gates,  Huger,  Jones,  and  Butler.  The  verbal 
information  which  I  received  on  the  subject  was  given  me  by 
Greene  W.  Caldwell,  Esq.,  the  present  superintendent  of  the 
branch  mint  at  Charlotte,  when  I  visited  that  town  early  in 
1849.  From  information  that  I  have  since  received  from  Gov- 
ernor Swain  of  Chapel  Hill,  Governor  Graham,  and  two  or 
three  other  citizens  of  Mecklenburg  County,  I  am  convinced 
that  Mr.  Caldwell  was  mistaken  in  the  man,  it  being  conceded 
that  Colonel  Ezekiel  Polk  ■  did  take  protection  from  Corn- 
wallis,  while  Colonel  Thomas  Polk  appears  to  have  been  made 
of  sterner  stuff.  I  felt  thankful  to  those  gentlemen,  and  I  now 
feel  grateful  to  you,  for  calling  my  attention  to  the  evident 
error,  for  I  am  extremely  anxious  to  have  my  work  a  faithful 
record  in  every  particular,  even  the  most  minute,  and  I  feel 
the  obligation,  above  every  other,  to  uphold  in  its  lofty  integ- 

1"  Taking  protection," — which  in  Thomas  Polk,  an  officer  of  the 
army,  would  have  been  desertion, — in  Ezekiel  Polk,  an  old  man  and 
a  non-combatant,  was  simply  the  act  of  a  private  citizen,  done  to  save 
a  helpless  family  from  ruin  and  want.  Far  less  provocation  had  forced 
hundreds  of  the  best  patriots  of  South  Carolina  into  a  similar  step. — 
Bancroft,  vol.  vi,  pp.  286-288. 


1758]  BIRTH  OF  WILLIAM  POLK.  37 

rity  the  character  of  every  true  patriot  during  that  struggle, 
for  they  are  the  great  exemplars  for  those  who  are  yet  to  fight 
the  battles  of  freedom  in  the  Old  World. 

I  had  already  made  the  proper  correction  of  the  error  and 
injustice,  in  preparing  my  work  for  a  new  edition,  when  the 
disastrous  conflagration  of  Harper's  establishment  occurred. 
Every  sheet  unsold  was  then  consumed.  They  have  now  got 
their  new  buildings  advanced  far  toward  completion,  and  we 
hope,  early  in  the  autumn,  to  issue  a  new  edition. 

You  mention  that  you  possess  a  knowledge  of  the  motives 
which  led  to  the  orders  of  Gates  and  others.  Will  you  have 
the  kindness  to  communicate  them  to  me,  as  early  as  your  con- 
venience will  permit  after  the  receipt  of  this?  The  order  al- 
luded to  I  copied  from  the  original  with  the  signatures,  now 
among  the  "Gates  Papers"  in  the  New  York  Historical  Society 
collections. 

I  am  a  member  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  and 
therefore  I  may  subscribe  myself  your  brother  in  the  bonds 
of  Christian  fellowship,  and  a  friend. 

With  sentiments  of  highest  regard, 

Faithfully  and  truly, 
Benson  J.  Lossing. 

William,  the  eldest  son  of  Thomas  and  the  father  of 
Leonidas  Polk,  was  born  on  the  9th  of  July,  1758,  near 
the  town  of  Charlotte,  in  the  county  of  Mecklenburg. 
At  school,  according  to  his  own  modest  account,  he 
showed  no  great  aptitude  for  learning,  but  rather  a 
disposition  for  mischief,  which  frequently  led  him  into 
childish  trouble.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  went  to  a 
grammar  school,  and  was  afterward  entered  at  Queen's 
College,  where  he  remained  until  the  beginning  of  hos- 
tilities between  the  colonies  and  Great  Britain.  The 
war  fever  of  the  coming  Revolution  early  developed  in 
him  the  military  spirit  which  was  hereditary  in  his  fam- 
ily, and  before  he  was  quite  seventeen  he  threw  aside 


38  OLD  COLONEL  DANGER.  [1775 

his  books  to  take  up  the  sword  in  the  cause  of  the  colo- 
nies. In  April,  1775 — that  is,  in  the  month  immediately 
preceding  that  in  which  his  father  read  the  Mecklenburg 
Declaration  from  the  court-house  steps — and  while  still 
a  student  in  college,  William  Polk  was  appointed  a  sec- 
ond lieutenant  and  was  assigned  to  the  3d  South  Caro- 
lina Regiment  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Wil- 
liam Thompson,  better  known  by  his  sobriquet  of  "Old 
Colonel  Danger."  The  second  company,  to  which  young 
Polk  belonged,  was  composed  of  North  Carolinians  and 
South  Carolinians  in  nearly  equal  numbers.  Less  than  a 
month  after  the  officers  had  received  their  commissions 
it  was  recruited  to  its  full  strength,  and,  with  another 
company  of  the  same  regiment,  was  at  once  ordered  to 
Ninety-Six  to  keep  the  Tories  of  that  neighborhood  in 
check.  In  June  these  two  companies  were  sent  to  Dor- 
chester, twenty  miles  from  Charleston,  and  in  August, 
1775,  they  were  ordered  to  join  the  regiment  at  Granby 
on  the  Congaree  River.  Their  duty  there  was  to  watch 
and  keep  down  the  Loyalists  living  in  the  Orangeburg 
District  and  near  the  Broad  and  Saluda  rivers.  Lieuten- 
ant Polk,  who  had  become  a  favorite  with  "  Old  Danger," 
was  given  command  of  several  expeditions,  in  one  of 
which  he  was  so  fortunate  as  to  surprise  and  capture 
Colonel  Fletcher,  a  noted  South  Carolina  Tory  leader. 

Colonel  Williamson,  who  was  operating  in  the  same 
neighborhood,  had  been  ordered  to  take  a  portion  of  his 
regiment  and  disperse  a  camp  of  Loyalists  then  form- 
ing on  the  Saluda.  In  this  he  was  unsuccessful,  and  he 
was  compelled,  about  the  first  of  December,  1775,  to  fall 
back  and  occupy  the  court-house  and  jail  at  Ninety-Six. 
Around  these  buildings  Williamson  erected  a  stockade, 
in  which  he  was  besieged  by  the  Tories  for  ten  or  twelve 
days,  until  the  garrison  was  relieved  and  the  siege  raised 


1775]        CAPTURE  OF  COLONEL  FLETCHER.  39 

by  the  approach  of  Thompson's  regiment  and  the  North 
and  South  Carolina  militia  under  the  command  of  Brig- 
adier-General Richard  Richardson.  The  Loyalists,  num- 
bering about  four  hundred,  fell  back  on  Reedy  River, 
where  they  were  surprised  on  December  22,  1775,  by  a 
detachment  under  Colonel  Thompson,  and,  with  a  few 
exceptions,  were  made  prisoners.  Colonel  Thompson, 
learning  after  the  capture  that  a  Captian  York  with 
a  detail  of  thirty  men  had  left  the  Loyalist  camp  on 
the  preceding  day  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  provi- 
sions, sent  Polk  with  thirty  men  of  his  regiment  and  a 
number  of  volunteer  militia  to  intercept  York  on  his 
return.  In  the  evening  of  the  same  day  York  and  all 
his  party,  with  the  exception  of  two  who  were  better 
mounted  than  their  comrades,  were  surprised  and  made 
prisoners.  Polk,  with  William  Henderson  (who  after- 
ward succeeded  Sumter  in  the  command  of  the  South 
Carolina  State  Brigade),  gave  chase  to  the  fugitives,  and 
in  the  struggle  which  ensued  Polk  was  shot  through 
the  left  shoulder.  A  dangerous  wound  at  any  time,  it 
became  doubly  so  from  exposure,  fatigue,  and  cold. 
With  more  than  a  foot  of  snow  on  the  ground,  he  was 
carried  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  to  his  father's 
house,  where  he  was  confined  to  his  bed  for  ten  months.1 
On  the  27th  of  November,  1776,  he  was  chosen  by  the 
Provincial  Congress  of  his  State  to  be  major  of  the  9th 
Regiment  of  the  North  Carolina  troops,  raised  on  the 
Continental  establishment,  and  joined  his  regiment  at 
Wilmington.  In  March,  1777,  the  colonel  and  lieuten- 
ant-colonel being  detailed  for  other  duties,  Major  Polk, 

1  See  Col.  David  Fanning's  Narrative  (Canadian  Magazine,  To- 
ronto, 1908)  for  interesting  account  of  the  same  movements  from  the 
Loyalist  point  of  view.  Referred  to  already  in  connection  with  his 
capture  of  Gov.  Burke. 


40  DEATH  OF  GENERAL  NASH.  [1777 

in  his  eighteenth  year,  took  command  of  the  regiment, 
and  marched  it  with  the  Third  Division  of  the  North 
Carolina  line,  into  the  Jerseys  to  join  the  army  of  Wash- 
ington, which  was  on  the  march  to  meet  General  Howe 
at  the  headwaters  of  the  Elk. 

Major  Polk  was  in  the  battles  of  Brandywine  and 
Germantown.  Near  the  close  of  the  latter  action,  Octo- 
ber 4,  1777,  he  was  shot  in  the  mouth  whilst  in  the  act 
of  giving  Command.  The  ball  ranged  with  the  upper 
jaw  and  lodged  nearly  in  a  line  with  the  ear,  shattering 
the  bone.  In  the  same  battle  his  brigade  commander, 
General  Francis  Nash,  was  mortally  wounded,  and  the 
parting  between  the  young  soldier  and  his  dying  general 
was  sorrowful  indeed.  "The  last  time  I  ever  saw  Gen- 
eral Nash/'  said  Colonel  Polk  to  a  friend  in  1826,  "was 
on  the  battlefield  of  Germantown.  He  was  being  borne 
from  the  field  on  a  litter.  I  had  just  been  shot  in  the 
mouth  and  could  not  speak.  I  motioned  to  the  bearers 
of  the  litter  to  stop.  They  did  so,  and  I  approached  to 
offer  my  hand  to  Nash.  He  was  blind  and  almost  in 
syncope  from  loss  of  blood,  but  when  he  was  told  that 
William  Polk  was  standing  near  him,  so  wounded  that 
he  could  not  speak,  Nash  held  out  his  hand,  and  said, 
'Good-by,  Polk.     I  am  mortally  wounded/  " 

In  spite  of  his  severe  wound,  young  Polk  remained 
near  his  command,  and  went  into  winter  quarters  with 
the  army  at  Valley  Forge.  Thus,  with  his  father, 
Thomas  Polk,  he  had  the  honor  to  be  one  of  the  faithful 
guard  of  Continentals  who  clung  to  the  fortunes  of 
Washington  through  the  want  and  the  misery  of  that 
dreadful  winter.  In  March,  1778,  the  nine  North 
Carolina  regiments  serving  with  Washington  were  so 
reduced  in  number  by  deaths  and  by  the  expiration  of 
short  terms  of  enlistment,  that  the  State  legislature  con- 


1778]  BATTLE  OF  CAMDEN.  41 

solidated  the  nine  into  four,  retiring  the  supernumerary 
officers  by  lot.1  It  was  William  Polk's  misfortune  to  be 
one  of  those  who  lost  their  commands  in  this  way.  But 
although  thus  temporarily  retired,  he  was  not  inactive, 
and  as  soon  as  he  had  returned  to  the  South,  he  engaged 
first  in  recruiting  service  and  then  in  expeditions  against 
the  Tories  and  the  British  in  South  Carolina.  It  was 
during  this  service  that  he  found  himself  associated  with 
Andrew  Jackson,  and  from  this  association  sprang  a 
friendship  which  lasted  as  long  as  the  two  lived. 

When  General  Gates  took  command  of  the  Southern 
army,  Major  Polk  was  placed  upon  the  staff  of  Major- 
General  Caswell,  and  was  present  with  him  at  the  disas- 
trous defeat  at  Camden.  Finding  himself  near  Gregory's 
brigade  when  the  rout  of  the  militia  began,  he  rendered 
some  service  during  the  stand  made  by  that  part  of  the 
command,  and  finally,  after  the  fall  of  Baron  de  Kalb, 
when  the  rout  was  complete  and  irretrievable,  his  knowl- 
edge of  the  country  enabled  him  to  guide  the  successful 
retreat  of  a  considerable  body  of  regular  and  militia 
troops  through  the  woods  and  by-ways. 

Caswell's  command  being  virtually  dispersed,  Major 
Polk  next  sought  service  with  the  brave  and  wise  Gen- 
eral William  Davidson,  whose  band  of  " Hornets"  so  well 
carried  on  the  good  work  begun  at  King's  Mountain. 
After  the  retreat  of  Cornwallis  from  Charlotte,  Polk  was 
sent  to  General  Gates,  and  afterward  to  Governor 
Thomas  Jefferson  of  Virginia  and  to  the  Maryland 
Council,  to  acquaint  them  with  the  deplorable  condition 
of  affairs  about  Charlotte  and  Salisbury.  He  was  un- 
successful in  his  appeal  to  the  president  of  the  Maryland 

1  The  brigade  returns,  Dec.  20th,  '77,  already  cited,  in  connection 
with  the  4th  regiment,  Thos.  Polk's,  show  total  strength  of  the  9th, 
Wm.  Polk's  regiment,  as  65  men,  of  whom  but  22  were  present  for 
duty. 


42  GENERAL  WILLIAM  L.  DAVIDSON.        [1781 

Council,  but  his  mission  to  Jefferson  was  both  pleasant 
and  profitable.  The  governor  received  and  entertained 
him  most  cordially,  and  made  him  the  bearer  of  assur- 
ances to  General  Gates  that  Virginia  would  continue  her 
efforts,  so  far  as  her  resources  permitted,  to  aid  the 
southern  army. 

In  December,  1780,  when  Greene  relieved  Gates  of  the 
command  of  the  army  at  Charlotte,  he  ordered  William 
Polk  to  accompany  and  assist  General  Kosciusko  in  the 
important  duty  of  selecting  a  camp  for  the  army  in  the 
better  provisioned  regions  watered  by  the  Pedee.  Dur- 
ing this  expedition  Polk's  intimate  association  with  Kos- 
ciusko inspired  him  with  an  affectionate  admiration  for 
the  gallant  Pole  who  fought  so  successfully  for  American 
independence,  but  failed  so  disastrously  in  his  heroic 
effort  to  assert  the  independence  of  his  own  country. 

When  the  army  had  been  established  upon  the  Pedee, 
Major  Polk  obtained  permission  to  return  to  Charlotte 
to  assist  General  Davidson  in  raising  a  command  to  be 
drawn  from  the  militia  of  the  counties  of  Mecklenburg, 
Rowan,  Iredell,  and  Lincoln.  Davidson  was  so  far  suc- 
cessful that,  by  the  latter  part  of  January,  he  was  able 
to  march  with  nearly  eight  hundred  men  to  the  relief  of 
Morgan  on  his  hurried  retreat  after  the  success  at  Cow- 
pens.  As  the  British  crossed  the  Catawba  at  Cowan's 
Ford,  in  eager  pursuit  of  their  flying  foes,  they  were 
furiously  attacked  by  the  newly  recruited  force  under 
Davidson.  Cornwallis,  who  was  leading  the  British  in 
person,  had  his  horse  shot  under  him.  Davidson,  mor- 
tally wounded,  fell  into  Polk's  arms,  who  was  riding  by 
his  side.  At  the  fall  of  Davidson  the  militia  scattered. 
Polk,  gathering  as  many  of  them  as  he  could,  led  them 
to  Salem,  and  reported  for  service  to  General  Pickens  be- 
fore Greene  crossed  the  Dan,  skirmishing  with  the  rear 


1781]  WITH  SUMTER  AND  MARION.  43 

of  Cornwallis's  army,  and  afterward  following  Tarleton 
and  the  Royalist  Colonel  Pyle  into  the  country  of  the 
Haw. 

Soon  after  the  battle  of  Guilford  Court  House  and  the 
retreat  of  Cornwallis  to  Wilmington,  Major  Polk  received 
his  commission  as  lieutenant-colonel  from  Governor  John 
Rutledge,  of  South  Carolina,  and  was  ordered  to  raise  a 
regiment  of  " swordsmen"  and  mounted  infantry,  to  be 
called  the  4th  Regiment  of  South  Carolina  Horse.  With- 
in a  month  he  had  enlisted  two-thirds  of  the  required 
number  of  men,  and  reported  under  orders  to  General 
Sumter,  who  was  then  operating  in  the  country  lying 
between  the  British  posts  of  Camden  and  Ninety-Six. 
His  first  service  with  his  new  regiment  was  undertaken 
in  conjunction  with  Colonel  Wade  Hampton.  By  a 
rapid  march  of  sixty  miles  in  seventeen  hours  they  sur- 
prised a  British  outpost  at  Friday's  Ferry  on  the  Con- 
garee,  killing  twenty-seven  of  the  enemy  and  burning 
the  block-house  in  sight  of  the  garrison  at  Fort  Granby. 
He  next  joined  Sumter  at  the  siege  of  Orangeburg,  and 
aided  in  the  capture  of  that  post.  Then  he  was  ordered 
to  report  to  General  Marion  before  Fort  Mott;  but,  as 
the  British  garrison  stationed  there  had  surrendered  on 
the  day  following  the  capture  of  Orangeburg,  he  arrived 
too  late  to  participate  in  that  success.  Again  following 
the  fortunes  of  Sumter  and  Marion,  after  the  battle  of 
Eutaw,  he  took  part  in  a  descent  upon  Dorchester  and 
the  fortified  position  at  Watboe  Church,  near  Charleston, 
Lee  and  the  two  Hamptons  being  sent  into  the  Neck, 
while  Polk,  Horry,  and  Mahone  were  pushed  down  to 
invest  the  works  around  Watboe.  The  bridges  were 
burned  and  some  river  craft  destroyed  in  Watboe  Creek, 
but  the  position  was  too  stron'g  to  be  taken  by  a  coup  de 
main,  and  thejnvestment  of  the  works  had  to  be  post- 


44  BATTLE  OF  EUTAW  SPRINGS.  [1781 

poned  until  the  arrival  of  the  artillery.  While  the  pa- 
triot troops  were  breakfasting,  the  British  cavalry  made 
a  furious  charge  upon  them,  but  was  repulsed  by  the 
infantry,  and  driven  by  the  American  cavalry  to  seek 
shelter  under  the  guns  of  the  fort.  That  night  the  Roy- 
alist troops  abandoned  the  position.  In  the  morning  Lee 
and  the  two  Hamptons  started  in  pursuit  and  attacked 
them  at  Grimsly.1 

General  Sumter  had  fallen  seriously  ill,  and  the  com- 
mand of  his  brigade  had  been  taken  by  William  Polk's 
early  friend  and  companion  in  arms,  Colonel  Henderson. 
In  the  fight  at  Eutaw  Springs  the  brigade  was  composed 
of  Hampton's,  Middleton's,  and  Polk's  regiments.  These 
troops,  in  conjunction  with  Lee's  Legion,  covered  the 
advance  of  Greene's  line  of  battle,  and  then  took  posi- 
tion on  the  left  flank,  directly  opposite  to  the  light  in- 
fantry of  Major  Majoribanks,  one  of  the  best  commands 
of  the  British  force  then  in  America.  Thus,  while  the 
infantry  of  Lee's  Legion  was  engaged  (on  the  right  of 
the  covering  body)  with  the  63d  Regiment  of  British 
regulars,  the  left,  under  Henderson,  was  exposed  to  a 
galling  fire  from  Majoribanks,  whose  men  were  hidden 
behind  the  cover  of  a  thicket.  It  was  a  severe  trial  for 
raw  troops.  Henderson  would  gladly  have  put  an  end 
to  it  by  charging  the  British  right  wing,  but  his  orders 
were  to  protect  the  American  flank,  and  his  men,  ani- 
mated by  his  spirit,  as  brave  men  always  are  by  the  cour- 
age of  a  gallant  leader,  stood  by  him  with  unflinching 
firmness.  Henderson  was  wounded.  For  a  moment  his 
men  wavered;  but  Hampton,  the  senior  colonel,  seconded 
by  Polk  and  Middleton,  soon  succeeded  in  rallying  them. 
Later  in  the  battle,  Coffin  with  his  cavalry  charged  a 

1  This  account  of  Polk's  service  with  Sumter  and  Marion  is  from  hia 
own  MS.     Polk  Papers,  Library  of  Congress,  Washington,  D.  C. 


1781]  BATTLE  OF  EUTAW  SPRINGS.  45 

party  of  Americans  who  were  scattered  among  the  Brit- 
ish tents.  Greene  ordered  up  the  cavalry  of  "Light 
Horse  Harry  Lee's"  Legion  to  meet  the  attack;  but 
Lee's  charge,  though  gallantly  made,  was  unsuccessful, 
and  Coffin,  pressing  on,  forced  his  way  through  the  scat- 
tered Americans.  At  this  moment  Hampton,  with  Polk 
and  Middleton,  came  up,  and  after  an  obstinate  hand-to- 
hand  fight  forced  the  British  cavalry  back  under  cover 
of  their  guns.1  In  one  of  the  numerous  hand-to-hand 
encounters  of  the  day  Polk's  horse  was  shot  dead  and 
fell  upon  him,  and  a  British  soldier  was  in  the  very  act 
of  pinning  him  to  the  ground  with  the  bayonet,  when  a 
timely  sabre-stroke  from  one  of  his  sergeants  cut  down 
his  assailant  and  saved  his  life.  As  might  have  been 
expected  in  so  desperately  contested  a  battle,  all  the  com- 
mands suffered  heavy  loss,  and  among  the  killed  was 
William  Polk's  youngest  brother,  Thomas,  who  was  a  lieu- 
tenant in  his  regiment. 

In  his  official  report  of  the  battle  of  Eutaw  General 
Greene  said: 

Lieutenant-Colonels  Polk  and  Middleton  were  no  less  con- 
spicuous for  their  good  conduct  than  their  intrepidity,  and  the 
troops  under  their  command  gave  a  specimen  of  what  may  be 
expected  from  men  naturally  brave  when  improved  by  proper 
discipline. 

The  retreat  of  the  British  to  Charleston  left  but  little 
for  the  American  cavalry  to  do  beyond  picket  duty, 
skirmishing,  and  scouting,  and  in  such  service  William 
Polk  continued  until  peace  was  made  and  the  army  dis- 
banded.2 

Among  the  interesting  incidents  of  William  Polk's 
military  career  was  an  encounter  with  the  gallant  British 

1  G.  W.  Greene's  "Life  of  Greene,"  vol.  iii,  pp.  395,  396,  401. 

2  This  is  the  service  at  Dorchester  aDd  Watboe  already  mentioned. 


46  HAND-TO-HAND  CONFLICTS.  [1786 

dragoon  Tarleton — then  a  mere  lad  like  himself — in  his 
raid  upon  the  Waxhaw;  but  beyond  a  few  words  of 
Andrew  Jackson,  relating  a  surprise  of  Polk  and  himself 
by  British  cavalry  under  the  dashing  young  English- 
man, we  have  little  knowledge  of  the  circumstances  of 
the  meeting.  It  appears  to  have  occurred  upon  an  oc- 
casion when  the  British  cavalry  caught  the  " rebels" 
defiling  through  a  long  lane  bordered  by  high  rail- 
fences.  That  good  use  was  made  of  the  opportunity  is 
shown  by  the  straits  to  which  Jackson  and  Polk  were 
put  in  order  to  make  their  escape,  and  may  be  inferred 
from  Tarleton's  well-known  capacity  as  a  commander  of 
cavalry.  Though  but  a  lad  in  years  when  he  was  first 
commissioned,  Polk  was  a  stalwart  man,  six  feet  four 
inches  in  height,  and  of  great  strength.  Sabres  were 
difficult  to  obtain  in  the  American  colonies,  and  his  sword 
was  made  for  him  from  a  scythe-blade.  Battles  were 
not  then  fought,  as  now,  at  a  distance  of  a  mile  or  more 
from  the  enemy,  and  an  officer's  sword  had  not  yet 
become  a  mere  symbol  of  command.  Polk  was  often 
engaged  at  the  head  of  his  troopers  in  hand-to-hand 
encounters  with  the  enemy's  cavalry.  In  one  of  these  a 
sturdy  British  soldier  singled  him  out  and  made  a  furi- 
ous assault  upon  him.  For  a  time  the  issue  was  doubt- 
ful, but  Polk,  beating  down  his  adversary's  guard,  struck 
the  gallant  fellow  squarely  upon  the  crown  of  the  head 
and  clove  him  almost  to  the  chin. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  Colonel  Polk  served 
his  State  and  country  in  various  capacities.  He  was 
appointed  by  the  legislature  of  North  Carolina  surveyor- 
general  of  the  Middle  District,  now  in  the  State  of  Ten- 
nessee. He  remained  there  until  1786,  and  was  twice 
elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons,  representing 
Davidson  County  in  that  body.    In  1787  he  was  elected 


1792]       UNIVERSITY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA.  47 

to  the  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina  from  his 
native  county  of  Mecklenburg,  which  he  continued 
to  represent  until  he  was  nominated  by  Washington  and 
confirmed  by  the  Senate  as  supervisor  of  internal  rev- 
enue for  the  district  of  North  Carolina.  This  office  he 
held  for  seventeen  years,  through  the  administrations  of 
Washington,  Adams,  and  Jefferson,  and  until  the  inter- 
nal-revenue laws  were  repealed. 

Deeply  impressed,  as  was  his  father  before  him,  with 
the  importance  of  education  to  his  people,  he  became 
a  trustee  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina  (Chapel 
Hill)  in  1792  and  remained  an  active  member  of  this 
board  until  his  death.  Judge  Archibald  D.  Murphy, 
of  Hillsboro,  writing  him  December  9,  1823,  concerning 
plans  for  buildings  at  the  University,  says:  "The  Univer- 
sity is  principally  indebted  for  its  existence  and  its 
progress  to  General  Davie,  yourself  the  treasurer, 
Governor  Smith,  and  Major  Gerard.' '  Even  before  be- 
coming a  trustee  of  the  State  University,  while  repre- 
senting Davidson  County  in  the  House  of  Commons 
('84  and  '85),  Polk  secured  the  charter  for  Davidson 
Academy,  from  which  has  sprung  the  present  Univer- 
sity of  Nashville.  He,  together  with  General  James 
Robertson  and  several  other  leaders  in  the  community, 
constituted  its  first  Board  of  Trustees  and  when  he 
resigned,  returning  to  North  Carolina,  his  intimate 
associate,  Andrew  Jackson,  took  his  place.  An  echo 
of  the  efficient  and  practical  work  for  education  done 
by  William  and  Thomas  Polk  is] to  be  seen  in  the 
Labors  of  Leonidas  Polk  for  the  University  of  the 
South  at  Sewanee.  In  the  midst  of  his  many  activi- 
ties, he  had  time  to  give  to  such  duties  as  are  needed 
to  reach  prominence  in  the  Order  of  Masons;  from 
December  4,  1799,  to  December  12,  1802,  he  was  Grand 


48  PRESIDENT  STATE  BANK.  [1789 

Master  of  the  Masonic  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Caro- 
lina and  Tennessee. 

In  1789  Colonel  Polk  married  Grizelda  Gilchrist, 
daughter  of  a  Scotch  gentleman,  and  granddaughter 
of  Robert  Jones,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Halifax.  Two 
children  were  born  of  this  marriage.  Mrs.  Polk  died  in 
1799.  Soon  afterward  Colonel  Polk  removed  to  the  city 
of  Raleigh,  where,  in  1801,  he  married  Sarah,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Colonel  Philemon  Hawkins,  and  a  sister  of  the 
governor  of  that  name.  Twelve  children,  one  of  whom 
was  Leonidas  Polk,  were  born  of  the  second  mar- 
riage. 

In  1811  Colonel  Polk  was  elected  a  director  of  the 
State  Bank  of  North  Carolina,  and  was  chosen  president 
by  his  colleagues.  This  office  he  filled  until  1819,  when 
he  resigned  in  order  to  devote  more  of  his  time  and  per- 
sonal attention  to  his  estate  in  Tennessee,  which  com- 
prised an  area  of  100,000  acres.  On  the  25th  of  March, 
1812,  he  was  appointed  by  President  Madison,  with  the 
consent  of  the  Senate,  a  brigadier-general  in  the  army  of 
the  United  States.  This  commission,  much  to  his  subse- 
quent regret,  de  declined  on  political  grounds,  thinking — 
erroneously,  as  he  afterwards  saw — that  his  position  as  a 
stanch  and  very  prominent  Federalist  forbade  his  accept- 
ance of  the  flattering  but  well-earned  distinction  from 
Mr.  Madison's  administration.1 

When  Lafayette  returned  to  America  in  1824  and 
made  his  memorable  tour  through  the  States,  Colonel 
Polk  was  one  of  the  commissioners  appointed  to  do  the 
honors  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina  to  his  old  comrade 
in  arms. 

An  eye-witness  has  left  an  amusing  account  of  some 

1  Letter  to  Wm.  Hawkins,  Gov.  of  North  Carolina,  Oct.  17,  1814. 
Executive  file,  North  Carolina  Historical  Com. — Hawkins. 


1824]  GENERAL  LAFAYETTE.  49 

incidents  of  the  reception  of  Lafayette  on  his  passage 
through  North  Carolina.  Colonel  William  Polk  had 
been  requested  by  Governor  Burton  to  provide  a  cavalry 
escort  for  the  illustrious  visitor,  and  a  troop  of  excel- 
lently drilled  and  handsomely  uniformed  volunteers  was 
formed  from  the  militia  of  Mecklenburg  and  Cabarrus 
counties.  Colonel  Polk,  the  governor,  and  the  cavalry 
escort,  under  command  of  General  Daniel,  met  Lafayette 
near  the  Virginia  line.  There  was  much  hand-shaking 
and  speech-making.  But,  as  the  narrator  writes,  "Lafa- 
yette spoke  but  little  English,  and  understood  less.  He 
had  retained  a  few  phrases,  which  he  would  utter  gener- 
ally in  an  effective  manner,  but  sometimes  ludicrously 
malapropos."  "Thanks!  My  dear  friend !  Great  coun- 
try! Happy  man!  Ah,  I  remember!"  were  nearly  his 
whole  vocabulary.  He  was  received  at  the  borders  of 
each  State  by  appointed  commissioners,  and  when  he 
had  been  escorted  through  it  he  was  safely  delivered  to 
the  commissioners  of  the  next  commonwealth.  At  Hali- 
fax the  cortege  was  met  by  General  Daniel,  who  had 
stationed  a  company  of  soldiers  by  the  roadside,  flanked 
by  the  ladies  who  were  assembled  to  do  honor  to  the 
guest  of  the  State.  It  had  been  arranged  that  the  ladies 
were  to  wave  their  handkerchiefs  as  soon  as  Lafayette 
came  in  sight,  and  when  General  Daniel  exclaimed,  "Wel- 
come, Lafayette!"  the  whole  company  was  to  repeat  the 
welcome  after  him.  Unluckily,  the  ladies,  misunderstand- 
ing the  programme,  waited  too  long  and  were  reminded 
of  their  duty  by  a  stentorian  command  of,  "Flirt,  ladies, 
flirt,  flirt,1 1  say!"  from  the  general  as  he  walked  down 
the  line  to  meet  the  marquis.  Equally  misunderstanding 
their  part,  the  soldiers,  instead  of  shouting,  "Welcome, 
Lafayette,"  in  unison  at  the  close  of  the  general's  address, 

1  Flirt — to  wave. 


50  GENERAL  LAFAYETTE.  [1824 

repeated  the  sentence  one  by  one,  and  in  varying  tones. 
Now  a  deep  bass  voice  would  exclaim,  "Welcome,  La- 
fayette !"  Then  perhaps  the  next  man  in  a  shrill  tenor 
would  squeak,  "Welcome,  Lafayette !"  And  so  on  down 
the  line.  Daniel,  frantic  at  this  burlesque  of  his  order, 
vainly  attempted  to  correct  it;  but,  as  he  unfortunately 
stammered  when  he  was  excited,  his  "Say  it  all  to-to-to- 
geth-er!"  could  not  overtake  the  running  fire  of  "Wel- 
come, Lafayette!"  which  continued  all  along  the  line. 
"Great  country!  Great  country!"  replied  Lafayette, 
turning  to  Colonel  Polk,  who  was  vainly  trying  not  to 
smile.  Observing  and  recognizing  an  old  acquaintance, 
Lafayette  greeted  him  with  great  effusion:  "Ah,  my 
dear  friend — so  glad  to  see  you  once  more!  Hope 
you  have  prospered  and  had  good  fortune  these 
years." 

"Yes,  General,  yes;  but  I  have  had  the  great  misfor- 
tune to  lose  my  wife  since  I  saw  you." 

Catching  only  the  "Yes,  General,"  and  the  word 
"wife,"  Lafayette  supposed  his  friend  was  informing 
him  of  his  marriage,  and,  patting  him  affectionately  on 
the  shoulder,  he  exclaimed,  "Happy  man!  Happy 
man!"  nor  could  he  be  made  to  understand  that  his 
observation  was  not  a  happy  one. 

After  replying  to  the  address  of  welcome  which  had 
been  delivered  by  Colonel  Polk  from  the  steps  of  the 
Capitol,  Lafayette,  with  all  the  dramatic  action  of  a 
Frenchman,  turned  to  Polk,  and  before  the  old  soldier 
knew  what  he  was  about,  threw  his  arms  around  his 
neck  and  attempted  to  kiss  him  on  the  cheek.  Colonel 
Polk  straightened  himself  up  to  his  full  height  of  six 
feet  four,  and  instinctively  threw  his  head  back  to  escape 
the  caress;  but  Lafayette,  who  was  a  dapper  little  fellow, 
tiptoed  and  hung  on  to  the  grim  giant,  while  a  shout  of 


1834]  DEATH  OF  COLONEL  POLK.  51 

laughter  burst  from  the  spectators  and  was  with  some 
difficulty  turned  into  a  cheer. 

Of  Colonel  William  Polk's  influence  in  the  State  of 
Tennessee  Governor  Swain  of  North  Carolina  has  said: 
"He  was  the  contemporary  and  personal  friend  and  as- 
sociate of  Andrew  Jackson,  not  less  heroic  in  war,  and 
quite  as  sagacious  and  more  successful  in  private  life. 
It  is  known  that  Colonel  Polk  greatly  advanced  the 
interests  and  enhanced  the  wealth  of  the  hero  of  New 
Orleans  by  information  furnished  him  from  his  field- 
notes  as  a  surveyor  and  in  directing  Jackson  in  his 
selections  of  valuable  tracts  of  land  in  the  State  of  Ten- 
nessee; that  to  Samuel  Polk,  the  father  of  the  President, 
he  gave  the  agency  of  renting  and  selling  his  [William 
Polk's]  immense  and  valuable  estate  in  lands  in  the  most 
fertile  section  of  that  State;  that,  as  first  president  of 
the  Bank  of  North  Carolina,  he  made  Jacob  Johnson, 
the  father  of  President  Andrew  Johnson,  its  first  porter, 
so  that  of  the  three  native  North  Carolinians  who  en- 
tered the  White  House  through  the  gates  of  Tennessee 
all  are  alike  indebted  for  benefactions,  and  for  promo- 
tion to  a  more  favorable  position  in  life,  to  the  same  in- 
dividual, William  Polk — a  man  whose  insight  into  char- 
acter rarely  admitted  of  the  selection,  and  never  of  the 
retention,  of  an  unworthy  agent." 

Colonel  Polk  died  at  his  residence  at  Raleigh  on  Jan- 
uary 14,  1834,  and  was  buried  with  military  honors.  An 
ardent  member  of  the  patriotic  Order  of  the  Cincinnati, 
he  was  the  last  surviving  field-officer  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina line  in  the  war  for  independence. 

Of  the  family  life  of  Colonel  William  Polk  only  a  few 
incidents  have  been  preserved;  but  in  families,  as  in 
nations,  the  silences  of  history  are  often  records  of  hap- 
piness, and  the  family  life  of  William  Polk  was  one  of 


52  COLONEL  POLK  AND  LEONIDAS.  [1826 

unbroken  peace  and  happiness.  The  youth  who  led  his 
regiment  in  battle  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  and  who  had 
fought  with  distinguished  gallantry  through  a  long  war 
before  he  was  five-and-twenty,  was  as  loyal  to  his  family 
and  his  friends  in  after-life  as  he  had  been  to  his  coun- 
try. In  society  he  was  a  generous  host,  a  trusty  friend, 
and  a  kindly  neighbor.  In  politics  he  was  earnest  in 
his  convictions,  consistent  in  his  conduct,  and  faithful  to 
his  associates.  In  public  life  he  had  repeated  and  long- 
continued  proofs  of  the  esteem  of  his  fellow-citizens.  It 
must  be  admitted  that  he  was  not  a  professedly  religious 
man,  but  it  is  by  no  means  impossible  that  under  an  ap- 
pearance of  indifference  he  may  have  concealed  more 
real  reverence  than  others  who  made  loud  professions. 
In  1826  his  son  Leonidas  returned  on  furlough  from  the 
academy  at  West  Point,  deeply  impressed  with  relig- 
ious feelings  and  convictions.  One  evening  the  lad  was 
seated  on  the  porch  conversing  with  his  friend  of  earlier 
and  later  years,  Maurice  Waddell,  grandson  of  the  Gen- 
eral Nash  who  fell  at  Germantown.  Colonel  Polk  joined 
them  and  spoke  with  enthusiasm  of  the  Mecklenburg 
Declaration  and  the  Revolution,  and  of  men  like  Nash, 
who  had  fought  and  died  for  the  independence  of  their 
country.  He  reminded  the  boys  that  the  revolutionary 
patriots  were  not  only  brave  and  chivalrous  soldiers,  but 
men  of  generous  and  noble  principles,  and  counseled 
them  to  take  those  men  as  examples  in  all  their  conduct. 
The  conversation  was  serious,  almost  solemn,  and  Leon- 
idas ventured  to  suggesi  that  the  principles  of  honor 
could  only  be  strengthened  and  enforced  by  the  princi- 
ples of  religion.  As  soon,  however,  as  that  view  of  the 
subject  was  presented,  the  old  soldier  rose,  and,  without 
a  word,  left  the  porch.  A  year  later,  when  Leonidas 
announced  his  intention  to  throw  away  all  the  advan- 


1826]  COLONEL  POLK  AND  LEONIDAS.  53 

tages  he  had  earned  at  West  Point,  to  abandon  a  mili- 
tary career,  and  to  exchange  his  uniform  for  a  surplice, 
Colonel  Polk  was  deeply  disappointed.  He  could  not 
understand  the  motive  of  such  a  resolve.  To  him  the 
life  of  a  soldier  was  the  noblest  life  to  which  a  gallant 
man  could  devote  himself,  and  it  had  been  his  pride  to 
think  that  Leonidas  was  destined  to  continue,  and  per- 
haps to  add' lustre  to,  the  many  military  traditions  of  his 
family.  He  therefore  used  every  influence,  except  that 
of  positive  command,  to  dissuade  the  young  man  from 
his  purpose.  When  Leonidas  did  actually  resign  his 
commission  to  enter  the  theological  seminary  at  Alex- 
andria, his  father,  who  was  then  in  Washington,  visiting 
his  friend  Andrew  Jackson,  the  President-elect,  could 
not  refrain  from  pouring  out  his  disappointment  and 
vexation  to  his  old  comrade.  About  the  same  time  he 
wrote  to  his  son,  "You  are  spoiling  a  good  soldier  to 
make  a  poor  preacher!"  It  might  have  soothed  the 
feelings  of  the  veteran  if  he  could  have  known  that 
Leonidas  would  one  day  buckle  on  the  sword,  that  he 
would  lead  more  men  into  the  field  than  his  father  had 
ever  seen  arrayed  in  battle,  and  that  he  would  die,  at 
last,  a  soldier's  death  on  the  field  of  honor,  fighting  for 
what  he  deemed  to  be  the  cause  of  right  and  liberty. 


APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  I. 

(See  Thomas  Polk,  p.  9.) 

Joseph  Seawell  Jones,  in  his  "Defense  of  the  Revolutionary 
History  of  North  Carolina/ '  says:  "Tradition  ascribes  to 
Thomas  Polk,  who  had  then  been  for  a  long  time  engaged  in 
the  service  of  the  province  as  a  surveyor  and  as  a  member  of 
the  Assembly,  the  principal  agency  in  bringing  about  the 
Declaration.  He  appears  to  have  given  notice  for  the  election 
of  the  convention,  and,  being  a  colonel  of  the  county,  to  have 
supervised  the  election  in  each  of  the  militia  districts." 

The  Rev.  Humphrey  Hunter,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution, 
passed  his  whole  life,  of  seventy-three  years,  in  Mecklenburg 
County,  and  was  well  known  to  its  people.  He  was  a  few 
days  over  twenty  years  of  age  on  that  memorable  20th  of 
May,  1775,  and  afterwards  bore  witness  that  he  was  present 
at  the  meeting  in  front  of  the  court-house,  and  then  and  there 
heard  the  Declaration  read  by  Thomas  Polk.  A  diary  kept 
by  Mr.  Hunter  contains  the  following  account  of  the  pro- 
ceedings: 

"Orders  were  issued  by  Colonel  Thomas  Polk  to  the  several 
militia  companies  that  two  men,  selected  for  each  corps, 
should  meet  at  the  court-house  on  the  19th  May,  1775,  in 
order  to  consult  with  each  other  upon  such  measures  as  might 
be  thought  best  to  be  pursued. 

"Accordingly,  on  said  day,  a  far  larger  number  than  two 
out  of  each  company  were  present.  A  certain  number  were 
selected  and  styled  delegates.  Abram  Alexander  was  unani- 
mously elected  chairman,  John  McKnitt  Alexander  and 
Ephraim  Brevard  were  chosen  secretaries.  A  full,  free,  and 
dispassionate  discussion  obtained  on  the  various  subjects  for 
which  the  meeting  had  been  called,  and  certain  resolutions, 
afterward  embodied  in  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration,  were 

54 


APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  I.  55 

unanimously  passed.  By-laws  and  regulations  for  the  govern- 
ment of  a  standing  committee  of  public  safety  were  then 
enacted.  A  select  committee  was  then  appointed  to  report 
on  the  ensuing  day  a  corrected  and  formal  draft  of  the  resolu- 
tions adopted,  and  the  delegates  adjourned  until  the  next  day 
at  noon. 

"On  the  20th  of  May  at  twelve  o'clock  the  delegates  had 
convened.  The  select  committee  was  present,  and  reported, 
agreeably  to  instructions,  a  formal  draft  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  written  by  Ephraim  Brevard,  chairman  of 
said  committee,  and  read  by  him  to  the  delegates.  It  was 
then  announced  from  the  chair,  'Are  you  all  agreed? '  There 
was  not  a  dissenting  voice. 

"Finally  the  whole  proceedings  were  read  distinctly  and 
audibly  at  the  court-house  door  by  Colonel  Thomas  Polk  to 
a  large,  respectable,  and  approving  assembly  of  citizens  who 
were  present  and  gave  sanction  to  the  business  of  the  day. 

"During  the  reading  of  the  Declaration  all  were  still,  every 
eye  was  fixed  on  the  form,  every  ear  open  to  the  full,  deep- 
toned  voice  of  Colonel  Polk.  When  he  closed  all  drew  a 
long  breath,  each  man  looked  into  his  neighbor's  eyes  and 
saw  the  fire  gleaming  there.  A  voice  from  the  multitude 
called  out,  'Three  cheers!'  and  then  went  up  such  a  shout 
as  was  never  before  heard  in  Mecklenburg.  The  deed  was 
done;  these  men  had  pledged  all  they  had,  lives,  fortunes, 
honor;  and,  true  as  steel,  from  that  hour  to  this  day  they  have 
never  shrunk.  This  was  the  first  public  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence in  the  British  colonies.  The  people  returned  to 
their  homes  and  vocations,  taught  by  their  leaders  to  ex- 
pect trouble,  and  to  be  ready  to  answer  their  country's  sum- 
mons at  a  moment's  warning." 

The  Mecklenburg  Declaration  was  first  published,  so  as 
to  reach  the  general  reading  public,  in  the  Raleigh  Register 
of  April  30, 1819,  as  a  communication  from  Dr.  Joseph  McKnitt 
Alexander.  Its  genuineness  has  been  disputed  by  persons 
not  familiar  with  the  local  history  of  North  Carolina  during 
the  Revolution,  but  the  testimony  in  the  support  of  its  authen- 


56  APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  I. 

ticity  would  establish  its  claims  before  any  court  in  which 
the  rules  of  evidence  are  observed. 

Dr.  Charles  Caldwell,  who  went  when  a  youth  from  Meck- 
lenburg to  Philadelphia,  where  he  won  an  enviable  repu- 
tation both  in  his  profession  and  as  a  citizen,1  published  in 
1812  his  "Memoirs  of  the  Life  and  Campaign  of  General 
Greene  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution."  In  the  appendix  he 
gives  in  full  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  May  20,  1775, 
adding  that  he  was  well  acquainted  with  Colonel  Thomas 
Polk  and  also  the  chairman  and  secretary  of  the  meeting 
that  adopted  the  resolutions.  It  must  be  admitted  that  Dr. 
Caldwell  knew,  from  daily  intercourse  with  men  who  had 
fought  in  the  war  for  independence,  the  striking  incidents 
which  took  place  in  that  part  of  the  country  at  a  time  im- 
mediately preceding,  as  well  as  those  contemporaneous  with, 
the  great  struggle.  He  declared  there  could  be  no  doubt 
about  the  authenticity  of  the  Declaration  of  May  20,  1775. 

Again,  when  the  Declaration,  as  published  in  the  Raleigh 
Register,  was  attacked  as  spurious  by  Thomas  Jefferson  and 
others  who  had  never  before  heard  of  it,  Colonel  William 
Polk  procured  and  communicated  to  the  Raleigh  Register  of 
February  18,  1820,  the  certificates  of  George  Graham,  William 
Hutchinson,  Jonas  Clark,  and  Robert  Robinson,  all  neighbors 
of  his  and  men  of  the  highest  character,  to  the  effect  that 
they  were  all  present  at  the  meeting  of  May  19th  and  20th, 
that  on  the  last-named  date  resolutions  were  read  which  went 
to  declare  the  people  of  Mecklenburg  free  and  independent 
of  the  King  of  Great  Britain.  Moreover,  the  semi-centennial 
celebration  of  this  remarkable  Declaration  was  attended  by 
sixty  or  seventy  veterans  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  men 
not  apt  to  be  duped  by  false  stories  on  this  point,  nor  indeed  on 
any  other  connected  with  the  war  in  that  region.  Of  these 
same  veterans,  twenty-seven  were  present  at  the  celebration 
of  1835. 

1  For  much  of  the  detail  of  this  part  of  my  workl  am  indebted  to 
the  able  and  logical  address  of  Gov.  W.  A.  Graham,  delivered  at  Char- 
lotte, N.  C.,  May  20,  1775. 


APPENDIX   TO  CHAPTER  I.  57 

THE  "DAVIE  COPY"  OF  THE  MECKLENBURG 
DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

1st.  Resolved,  That  whosoever  directly  or  indirectly  abetted,  or  in 
any  way,  form,  or  manner  countenanced  the  unchartered  and  danger- 
ous invasion  of  our  rights,  as  claimed  by  Great  Britain,  is  an  enemy  to 
this  country,  to  America,  and  to  the  inherent  and  inalienable  rights 
of  man. 

2d.  Resolved,  That  we,  the  citizens  of  Mecklenburg  County,  do 
hereby  dissolve  the  political  bands  which  have  connected  us  with  the 
mother-country,  and  hereby  absolve  ourselves  from  all  allegiance  to 
the  British  Crown,  and  abjure  all  political  connection,  contract,  or 
association  with  that  nation,  who  have  wantonly  trampled  on  our  rights 
and  liberties  and  inhumanly  shed  the  blood  of  American  patriots  at 
Lexington. 

3d.  Resolved,  That  we  do  hereby  declare  ourselves  a  free  and  inde- 
pendent people;  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  a  sovereign  and  self- 
governing  Association,  under  the  control  of  no  power  other  than  that 
of  our  God  and  the  general  government  of  the  Congress;  to  the  main- 
tenance of  which  independence  we  solemnly  pledge  to  each  other  our 
mutual  cooperation,  our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our  most  sacred  honor. 

4th.  Resolved,  That  as  we  now  acknowledge  the  existence  and  con- 
trol of  no  law,  or  legal  officer,  civil  or  military,  within  this  country,  we 
do  hereby  ordain  and  adopt  as  a  rule  of  life,  all,  each,  and  every  of  our 
former  laws,  wherein,  nevertheless,  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain  never 
can  be  considered  as  holding  rights,  privileges,  immunities,  or  authority 
therein. 

5th.  Resolved,  That  it  is  further  decreed,  that  all,  each,  and  every 
military  officer  in  this  county,  is  hereby  reinstated  in  his  former  com- 
mand and  authority,  he  acting  conformably"  to  these  regulations.  And 
that  every  member  present,  of  this  delegation,  shall  henceforth  be  a 
civil  officer,  viz.,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  in  the  character  of  a  "Com- 
mitteeman," to  issue  process,  hear  and  determine  all  matters  of  con- 
troversy, according  to  said  adopted  laws,  and  to  preserve  peace,  union, 
and  harmony  in  said  county;  and  to  use  every  exertion  to  spread  the 
love  of  country  and  fire  of  freedom  throughout  America,  until  a  more 
general  and  organized  government  be  established  in  this  province. 

The  following  letter  from  John  Adams  is  of  interest  in  this 
connection: 

Montezillo,  April  30,  1822. 
Hon.  John  Williams,  Senator  of  the  U.  S.  from  Tennessee. 

Sir:  I  pray  you  to  accept  my  kind  thanks  for  sending  me 
the   Mecklenburg   Declaration   of   Independence.    Although 


58  APPENDIX   TO  CHAPTER  I. 

these  papers  have  been  familiar  to  me  for  two  or  three  years 
past,  thay  are  still  an  incomprehensible  mystery.  I  can 
scarcely  conceive  it  possible  that  such  a  transaction  should 
have  been  concealed  for  so  many  years  from  the  public.  Had 
those  resolutions  been  published  at  the  time,  they  would 
have  rolled  and  rebellowed  through  the  Continent,  from  the 
Mississippi  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  would  have  been  re- 
echoed from  every  part  of  Europe.  There  is  but  one  hypothe- 
sis that  has  ever  occurred  to  me  for  their  suppression.  Mr. 
Caswell  was  a  stanch  patriot;  but  he  was  recalled  to  take 
upon  him  the  government  of  North  Carolina  and  the  com- 
mand of  their  forces.  Mr.  Hooper  was  never  cordial  in  the 
cause  of  the  country,— and  Mr.  Hewes  was  for  a  long  time 
wavering  and  undecided,  though  he  at  last  came  out  in  a  style 
sufficiently  equivocal.  These  gentlemen  were  constantly 
assailed  by  the  friends  of  the  British  Government,  aided  by 
the  Quakers  and  proprietary  gentlemen  of  Pennsylvania — 
and  by  them  kept  constantly  quivering;  and,  perhaps,  per- 
suaded to  suppress  Resolutions  which  if  they  had  been  pub- 
lished would  have  had  infinitely  more  influence  in  the  world 
than  Mr.  Paine's  "Common  Sense,"  which  came  out  so  many 
months  after.  These  were  Resolutions  of  a  very  respectable 
body  of  native  American  citizens.  "Common  Sense"  was 
the  production  of  a  wandering  fugitive  adventurer.  Though 
Mr.  Jefferson  believes  these  Resolutions  to  be  fabrications, 
yet  it  is  impossible  not  to  believe,  from  the  similarity  of  ex- 
pressions in  his  Declaration  of  Independence,  that  he  had  not 
heard  those  words  repeated  in  conversation,  though  he  had 
not  seen  the  Resolutions  in  form. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir, 

Your  obliged  and  humble  servant, 

John  Adams. 

We  now  give  the  resolutions  of  May  31,  1775,  drafted  by 
Ephraim  Brevard,  the  secretary  of  the  meeting.  Brevard 
was  a  son-in-law  of  Thos.  Polk,  and  tradition  claims  that  the 
draft  was  made  at  Polk's  home,  the  night  before  this  meeting, 


APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  I.  59 

and  that  it  was  their  joint  work,  Polk  representing  the  com- 
mittee supplying  the  substance,  Brevard  the  form. 

Transcript  of  the  Mecklenburg  Resolves,  May  31,  1775, 
in  the  Cape-Fear  Mercury,  of  June  23,  1775,  sent  in  Governor 
Martin's  duplicate  letter  of  June  30,  1775,  to  Lord  Dart- 
mouth.1 

North  Carolina,  Charlotte  Town,  Mecklenburg  County. 

This  day  the  Committee  of  ys  County  met  and  passed  the 
following  resolves.  Whereas  by  an  address  presented  to  His 
Majesty  by  both  Houses  of  Parliament  in  February  last,  the 
Americans  are  declared  Rebels,  We  conceive  that  all  the  laws 
and  Commissions  Conferred  by  or  derived  from  the  authority 
of  the  King  or  Parliament  are  Annulled  and  void,  and  the  former 
Constitution  of  the  Colonies  for  the  present  wholly  Suspended 
— To  provide  in  some  degree  for  the  exigencies  of  this  County 
in  this  Alarming  Situation,  We  deem  it  proper  and  Necessary 
to  pass  the  following  Resolves. 

RESOLVED 

1st.  That  all  Commissions  Civil  and  Military  heretofore 
granted  by  the  Crown  to  be  exercised  in  this  Colony  to  be  Null 
and  Void,  and  the  Constitution  of  each  particular  Colony 
wholly  Suspended — 

2d.  That  the  provincial  Congress  of  each  province  under 
the  direction  of  the  great  Continental  Congress  is  invested 
with  all  the  legislative  and  Executive  Authority  with  their 
respective  provinces,  and  that  no  legislative  or  Executive 
power  does  or  can  Exist  at  this  time  in  any  of  their  Colonies. 

3d.  As  all  former  laws  are  now  Suspended  in  this  Province 
and  the  Congress  have  not  yet  provided  others,  we  judge  it 
necessary  for  the  better  preservation  of  good  order  to  per- 
form good  rules  &  Regulations  for  the  internal  Government 
of  this  County  until  laws  shall  be  provided  for  us  by  the  Con- 
gress. 

1  From  the  original  manuscript  in  the  possession  of  the  Earl  of 
Dartmouth. 


60  APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  I. 

4th.  That  the  Inhabitants  of  this  County  do  meet  on  a  cer- 
tain day  appointed  by  the  Committee,  and  having  formed 
themselves  into  9  Companies,  Viz.  8  in  the  County  and  1  in 
the  Town  of  Charlotte  do  chuse  a  Colonel  &  other  Militia 
officers,  who  shall  hold  and  Exercise  their  Several  Powers 
by  virtue  of  this  Choice  and  independent  of  the  Crown  of 
Great  Britain  and  the  former  Constitution  of  this  Province. 

5th.  That  for  the  better  preservation  of  the  Peace  and 
Administration  of  Justice,  Each  of  their  Companies  do  Chuse 
from  their  own  body  two  discreet  Freeholders  who  shall  be 
empowered  each  by  himself  and  singly  to  decide  and  deter- 
mine all  Matters  of  Controversy,  arising  within  the  Said 
Company  under  the  Sum  of  Twenty  Shillings  and  jointly  all 
Controversies  under  40,  yet  so  as  their  Decision  may  admit 
of  an  appeal  to  the  Convention  of  the  Select  Men  of  the  whole 
County,  and  also  that  any  one  of  these  men  have  power  to 
Examine  &  Commit  to  Confinement  persons  accused  of 
Petty  Larceny. 

6th.  That  these  two  Select  Men  thus  chosen  do  jointly  and 
together  chuse  from  the  Body  of  their  particular  Company  two 
persons  properly  qualified  to  act  as  Constables  who  may  as- 
sist them  in  the  Execution  of  their  office. 

7th.  That  upon  the  complaint  to  either  of  these  Select 
Men  do  issue  their  Warrant  directed  to  the  Constable  to 
bring  the  aggressor  before  him  or  them  to  answer  the  Said 
Complaint. 

8th.  That  these  Eighteen  Select  Men  thus  Appointed  do 
meet  every  third  Tuesday  in  Janry,  April,  July  and  October 
at  the  Court  House  in  Charlotte  Town  to  hear  and  determine 
all  Matters  of  Controversies  for  Sums  exceeding  40  shillings 
also  Appeals,  and  in  case  of  Felony  to  commit  their  Person 
or  persons  to  close  Confinement  untill  the  Provincial  Congress 
shall  provide  and  Constitute  laws  and  mode  of  proceedings  in 
such  Cases. 

9th.  That  these  Eighteen  Select  Men  thus  Convened  do 
chuse  a  Clerk  to  record  the  transactions  of  the  said  Conven- 
tions, and  that  the  Clerk  upon  the  Application  of  any  Person 


APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  I.  61 

or  persons  aggrieved  do  issue  their  Warrant  to  one  of  the 
Constables  to  summon  and  warn  the  said  Offender  to  appear  be- 
fore the  said  Convention  at  their  next  meeting  to  answer  the 
aforesaid  Complaint. 

10th.  That  any  person  making  Complaint  upon  oath  to  the 
Clerk  or  any  member  of  the  Convention  that  he  has  reason 
to  Suspect  that  any  Person  or  Persons  indebted  to  him  in  a 
Sum  above  40  shillings  do  intend  Clandestinely  to  withdraw 
from  the  County  without  paying  such  Debt,  the  Clerk  or  such 
Member  shall  issue  his  Warrant  to  the  Constable  command- 
ing him  to  take  the  said  Person  or  Persons  into  safe  Custody 
untill  the  next  Sitting  of  the  Convention. 

11th.  That  when  a  Debtor  in  a  Sum  under  40  sh.  shall 
abscound  and  leave  the  County,  the  Warrant  granted  as  afore- 
said shall  extend  to  any  Goods  or  Chattels  of  the  said  Debtor 
as  may  be  found,  and  if  such  Goods  or  Chattels  so  seized  and 
held  in  Custody  for  the  Space  of  30  days  in  which  time  the 
Debtor  fail  to  return  and  discharge  the  debt,  the  Constable 
shall  return  the  Warrant  to  any  of  the  said  Select  Men  of 
the  Company  where  the  goods  or  Chatties  are  found  who  shall 
issue  orders  to  the  Constable  to  sell  such  a  Part  of  the  said 
Goods  as  shall  amount  to  the  Sum  due,  that  when  the  Debt 
shall  exceed  40  sh.  the  return  shall  be  made  to  the  Convention 
who  shall  issue  their  Order  for  Sale. 

12th.  That  all  Receivers  and  Collectors  of  Quitrents,  Pub- 
lick  &  County  Taxes  to  pay  the  Same  into  the  hand  of  the 
Chairman  of  this  County  to  be  by  them  dispersed  as  the  Pub- 
lick  Exigencies  may  require,  and  that  such  Receivers  and 
Collectors  proceed  no  farther  in  their  office  untill  they  be 
approved  of  by,  and  have  given  to  their  Committee  good 
and  sufficient  Security  for  a  faithful  return  of  such  Money 
when  Collected. 

13th.  That  then  the  Committee  shall  be  accountable  to 
the  County  for  the  Application  of  all  money  received  by  such 
publick  offices. 

14.  That  all  those  officers  shall  hold  their  Commissions 
during  the  Pleasure  of  their  respective  Constituents. 


62  APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  I. 

15.  That  this  committee  shall  satisfy  all  Demands  that  ever 
hereafter  may  accrue  to  all  or  any  of  these  their  Officers  thus 
Appointed  and  thus  Acting  on  account  of  their  Obedience  in 
Conformity  to  these  Resolves. 

16.  That  whatever  person  shall  hereafter  receive  a  Com- 
mission from  the  Crown  or  Attempt  to  exercise  such  Commis- 
sion heretofore  received  shall  be  deemed  an  Enemy  to  his 
Country,  and  upon  information  being  made  to  the  Captain 
of  the  Company  in  which  he  resides,  the  said  Captain  shall 
cause  him  to  be  apprehended  and  Convey  him  before  the  two 
Select  Men  of  the  sd.  Company  who  upon  the  proof  of  the 
Fact  shall  commit  him  the  said  Offender  to  safe  Custody, 
'till  the  next  meeting  of  the  Convention  who  shall  deal  with 
him  as  they  in  their  Prudence  direct. 

17.  That  any  person  refusing  to  yield  Obedience  to  the 
above  Resolves  shall  be  considered  as  equal  Enemies  and 
liable  to  the  same  punishment  as  the  Offenders  above  last 
mentioned. 

18.  That  these  Resolves  shall  be  in  full  force  and  Virtue 
untill  Instructions  from  the  Continental  Congress,  regulating 
the  just  proceedings  of  this  province  shall  provide  otherwise 
or  the  legislative  body  of  Great  Britain  resigns  it's  unjust  & 
arbitrary  pretentions  with  respect  to  America,  and  no  longer. 

19.  That  the  several  Militia  Companys  in  this  County  do 
provide  themselves  with  proper  Arms  and  Accoutrements 
and  hold  themselves  in  constant  readiness  to  execute  the  com- 
mand and  advice  of  the  General  Congress  of  this  Province  & 
of  this  Committee. 

20.  That  the  Committee  Appoint  Colonel  Thos.  Polk  & 
Dr.  Joseph  Kennedy  to  purchase  300  lbs.  of  Gun  Powder  & 
600  lbs.  of  Lead  &  1000  flints  for  the  use  of  the  Malitia  in  this 
County  and  deposite  the  Same  in  some  safe  place  hereafter 
to  be  appointed  by  the  Committee  to  be  cautiously  kept 
untill  the  safety  &  defence  of  their  Colony  shall  require  use 
to  make  use  of  it  in  defence  of  our  Country  and  Liberty. 

Signed  by  order  of  the  Committee, 

ErHRAiM  Brevard. 


CHAPTER  II. 

WEST      POINT. 

1820  to  1827. 

Leonidas  Polk's  early  education. —  Enters  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina.—  A  singer  of  patriotic  songs. — An  old-time  celebration  of  the 
Fourth  of  July. —  University  life.  — Enters  the  U.  S.  Military  Academy  at 
West  Point. — His  mode  of  life. —  Love  of  justice.— Friendship  with 
Albert  Sidney  Johnston. —  Visit  of  General  Scott  and  George  Canning 
to  West  Point. —  Major-General  Gaines. —  Internal  working  of  the  Acad- 
emy.— Appointment  on  the  staff. —  General  Worth's  war  horse. — Lafa- 
yette's visit  to  West  Point. —  "  A  patch  for  old  shirts." — Colonel  Thayer. 

—  A  spying  postmaster. — Debts. —  Breach  of  regulations  by  the  draw- 
ing class. —  Appeal  to  the  Secretary  of  War. —  The  Secretary's  reply. — 
Conversion. — Chaplain  Mcllvaine's  influence. —  The  praying  squad. — 
Religious  condition  of  the  Academy. —  Polk's  baptism. —  Appointed 
orderly  sergeant:  a  trying  position. —  Tells  his  father  of  his  conver- 
sion.—  Trials  attending  conversion. —  Nightly  meetings  for  worship. — 
Colonel  Polk's  feelings  on  his  son's  conversion. —  Offered  a  professorship 
at  Amherst  College.—  Graduation.— Travels  in  New  England  and  Canada. 

—  Resigns  commission. — Enters  on  study  for  the  ministry. 

Very  few  anecdotes  or  incidents  of  the  earliest  years 
of  the  life  of  Leonidas  Polk  have  been  preserved.  Like 
many  other  men  of  action,  he  appears  to  have  been 
known  as  a  high-spirited  and  healthy  child,  of  whom  the 
partiality  of  friends  might  hope  much,  but  who  gave 
no  precocious  indications  of  future  distinction.  At  all 
events,  when  it  has  been  said  that  he  was  the  second 
son  of  the  second  marriage  of  William  Polk,  that  he 
was  born  at  Raleigh  on  the  10th  of  April,  1806,  that  he 
received  his  earliest  education  in  the  academy  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  McPheters  in  that  city,  and  that  he  was  remem- 

63 


64  BEGINNING    UNIVEHS1TY  LIFE.  [1821 

bered  by  his  contemporaries  as  a  leader  in  the  sports  of 
their  boyhood,  all  that  is  known  of  those  years  has  been 
told. 

In  1821  he  was  entered  at  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  Chapel  Hill.  At  that  time  he  was  a  handsome, 
well-grown  lad,  and  somewhat  famous,  it  appears,  as  a 
singer  of  patriotic  songs.  The  Hon.  Kemp  P.  Battle, 
in  a  centenary  address  delivered  at  Raleigh,  has  recalled 
one  of  his  triumphs  as  a  vocalist. 

"The  celebration  of  the  Fourth  of  July,"  he  says, 
"  filled  so  large  a  space  in  the  minds  of  the  people  of 
that  day  that  this  address  would  be  incomplete  without 
an  attempt  to  recall  them.  The  day  was  ushered  in  by 
firing  of  cannon.  There  was  a  Federal  salute,  as  it  was 
called :  one  gun  for  each  State  in  the  Union.  Then  a 
procession  was  formed  at  the  court-house  and  moved  to 
the  music  of  fife  and  drum  to  the  Capitol  Square.  There 
an  ode  was  sung.  Then  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  read;  then  an  ode;  then  came  the  oration,  which 
was  followed  by  an  ode.  These  odes,  sung  with  spirit, 
were  far  more  soul-stirring  than  the  music  of  brass 
bands  in  these  days.  At  noon  a  good  dinner  was  set. 
There  were  two  tables,  presided  over  by  the  President 
and  Vice-President.  Toasts  were  drunk,  followed  by 
speeches  and  convivial  songs.  A  participant  enables  me 
to  give  an  account  of  one  of  these  scenes,  which  is  a  fair 
sample  of  all.  Governor  Holmes  presided  at  one  table, 
Colonel  [William]  Polk  at  the  other.  Three  judges  were 
appointed  to  decide  which  table  furnished  the  best  song 
and  the  best  speech ;  viz.,  Joseph  Gales,  the  distinguished 
editor,  Chief -Justice  Taylor,  and  Judge  Hall  of  the  Su- 
preme Court.  The  favorite  singer  at  Governor  Holmes's 
table  was  one  Reeder,  a  tinner,  who  had  gallantly  run 
1  for  his  country's  fame '  at  Bladensburg.    The  champion 


Mt.  15]     AN  OLD-TIME    FOURTH  OF  JULY.  65 

of  the  other  table  was  Leonidas  Polk,  son  of  the  colonel, 
afterward  the  great  missionary  bishop  of  the  Southwest, 
and  later  still  the  soldier-bishop  who  was  killed  at  Kene- 
saw.  On  account  of  the  vocal  powers  of  the  future 
bishop,  the  judges  awarded  the  victory  to  the  table  of  his 
father.  The  prize  of  victory  was  the  privilege  of  taking 
the  occupants  of  both  tables  to  the  home  of  the  victor 
and  treating  them  to  new  viands.  The  crowd  hurried 
tumultuously,  singing  and  shouting,  to  the  residence  of 
Colonel  Polk,  following  him,  and  dragging  a  cannon 
with  them.  An  ample  table  was  found  spread  for  them  ; 
new  toasts  were  drunk,  new  songs  were  sung,  the  cannon 
was  fired,  and,  amid  shouts  and  hurrahs  for  Colonel  Polk 
and  Independence,  the  patriots,  with  their  bosoms  too 
full  for  articulate  utterance,  meandered  to  their  homes." 
One  letter  written  during  his  student  life  at  Chapel 
Hill  has  been  preserved.  It  is  of  little  importance,  except 
in  so  far  as  it  illustrates  the  strong  family  affection  which 
existed  between  the  members  of  the  Polk  family,  the  dash 
of  frolicsome  humor  which  always  remained  with  him, 
and  the  amusing  ceremoniousness  which  was  blended 
with  his  expressions  of  affection.  The  letter  was  written 
to  his  sister  Mary,  then  at  school  in  the  North,  and  sub- 
sequently the  wife  of  Mr.  George  Badger,  a  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  and  Chief-Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  State. 

Chapel  Hill,  February  10, 1823. 
My  dear  Sister:  On  my  arrival  in  this  place  I  wrote  you  in 
answer  to  your  letter  received  during  my  vacation,  and  en- 
closed it  to  Raleigh,  thence  to  be  forwarded  to  you.  Know- 
ing your  punctuality  in  answering  letters,  I  cannot  account 
for  the  delay  you  seem  to  express  in  replying  to  the  above 
named.  You 'have  no  conception  of  the  pleasure  I  derive 
from  the  perusal  of  a  letter  from  you,  being  so  far  distant 


66  APPOINTMENT  TO   WEST  POINT.         [1823 

from  home  and  the  peculiarity  of  your  situation.  My  letter 
must  have  miscarried. 

I  received  a  line  from  brother a  few  days  since;  he  is 

actually  to  take  a  trip  to  Tennessee  this  coming  spring  with 
my  father,  and  there  to  remain,  I  presume,  for  no  short  space 
of  time,  judging  from  the  nature  of  Pa's  business  in  that 
much-talked-of  State.  He  is  the  most  anxious  man  to  get 
married  I  have  ever  seen,  but  has  not  found  any  girl  that 
strikes  his  fancy,  or  who  has  all  that  is  requisite  to  be  the 
wife  of  a"  Polk,"  for  I  believe  they  are  choice.  The  family 
are  all  well,  and  Hamilton  has  gone  to  Uncle  Little's  to  school, 
the  greatest  blessing  ever  conferred  on  him.  We  are  all  now 
from  home  who  can  possibly  be  spared  from  the  nursery  ex- 
cept the  gentleman  whom  I  have  said  has  such  an  itching  for 
a  partner. 

I  am  at  this  moment  about  to  go  on  a  skating  expedition  -, 
the  ice  on  our  pond  is  very  thick,  and  last  night  there  was  a 
heavy  fall  of  snow  which  still  continues.  It  is  nearly  eight 
inches  thick.  This  you  will  deem  but  a  slight  drift  in  com- 
parison to  those  which  you  have,  but  it  is  more  than  we  every 
day  see. 

With  the  utmost  respect  and  esteem, 

Your  affectionate  brother, 

Leonid  as. 

When  his  second  year  at  Chapel  Hill  was  drawing  to 
a  close,  Leonidas,  to  his  great  delight,  received,  through 
his  father's  influence,  an  appointment  to  a  cadetship  in 
the  United  States  Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  and 
he  immediately  addressed  the  following  letter  to  his 
father : 

Chapel  Hill,  March  10, 1823. 

My  dear  Father:  Yours  announcing  my  appointment  by 
the  President  as  a  cadet  at  West  Point  was  duly  and  most 
cordially  received.  You  can  imagine  but  few  things  which 
would  have  more  highly  gratified  me.  Many  and  various 
thoughts  floated  across  my  mind,  on  seeing  the  direction  of 


^Et.  17]  COLLEGE  LIFE.  67 

it.  I  not  only  hailed  it  with  delight  as  the  messenger  bear- 
ing tidings  of  an  appointment  so  long  wished  for,  an  ap- 
pointment which  was  to  make  so  vast  an  alteration  in  my 
career  in  life  (an  agreeable  change  it  is  too),  but  I  at  once 
thought  of  the  inexpressible  joy  of  my  sister  on  seeing  me, 
and  my  truly  exquisite  pleasure  in  returning  her  embraces. 
You  expressed  in  your  letter  a  desire  that  I  should  instantly 
turn  my  attention  to  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  arithmetic 
sufficient  to  make  me  an  acceptable  candidate.  You  directed 
me  also  to  continue  with  my  class  to  recite  Latin,  and,  if  pos- 
sible, the  rest  of  my  studies,  too  j  learning  arithmetic  at  the 
same  time.  My  time  would  not  permit  me  to  attend  to  all 
these  duties  at  once.  We  rise  in  the  morning  at  half  past 
five  o'clock,  then  until  eight  are  engaged  in  chapel  duties 
and  recitation.  At  eight  we  are  summoned  to  breakfast — 
there  is  then  an  hour  appropriated  for  that  purpose  j  from 
nine  until  twelve  we  are  preparing  for  and  reciting  our  Greek 
lesson ;  until  one  we  have  for  relaxation  and  exercise.  "We  go 
to  dinner  at  one,  and  commence  at  two  to  get  our  Latin  les- 
son, are  thus  engaged  until  four,  at  which  time  we  recite  it ; 
remain  at  recitation  until  five,  then  repair  to  the  chapel,  hear 
prayers,  thence  to  supper.  There  is  a  vacation  until  eight 
p.m.,  at  which  time  we  retire  to  our  rooms  to  prepare  a  geom- 
etry lesson  to  recite  at  seven  the  next  morning.  Our  time  is 
thus  occupied  during  the  week  until  Saturday,  the  evening  of 
which  we  are  entitled  to,  leaving  but  very  few  spare  hours 
to  be  devoted  to  exercise  and  reading.  We  have  to  show 
compositions  every  fortnight  in  the  class,  and  they  have  to 
be  written  during  play  hours.  The  society  duties  are  to  be 
attended  to  also  weekly,  which  are  of  very  great  importance 
and  require  their  portion  of  time.  From  this  statement  you 
will  perceive  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  attend  to  anything 
else  to  the  least  advantage.  To  relinquish  all  but  the  Latin 
and  to  devote  the  rest  of  my  time  to  other  than  college  duties, 
the  faculty  would  not  permit  me.  There  have  been  instances 
of  students  being  wholly  irregular  on  the  languages  and 
studying  English  only,  but  never  one  where  a  student  was 
partly  irregular  on  them.    So  to  neglect  one  of  the  languages 


68  COLLEGE  LIFE.  [1823 

I  must  neglect  both.  But  there  is  not  a  class  in  college  that 
is  studying  arithmetic,  therefore  I  cannot  study  arithmetic 
and  be  a  collegian.  I  am  consequently  unable  to  pursue  the 
plan  you  desire  me.  My  class  will,  the  latter  part  of  this 
week  or  the  first  of  next,  have  read  all  the  Latin  they  intend 
to  read  j  they  will  then  turn  back  to  review.  I  have  acquired 
a  knowledge  sufficient  of  Latin  to  enable  me  to  construe  most 
of  the  sentences  with  which  I  meet  in  reading,  or  at  least  to 
glean  the  author's  meaning,  and  I  could  obtain  but  a  little 
more  by  a  review  of  my  studies.  In  going  to  West  Point  I 
do  not  wish  to  leave  this  place  unprepared  to  stand  the  most 
scrutinous  examination.  I  have  passed  half  through  this  in- 
stitution, and  am  but  imperfectly  acquainted  with  most  of 
the  studies  I  have  been  prosecuting ;  this  ignorance  is  to  be 
imputed  to  my  being  badly  prepared  on  entering  college. 
The  evil  has  shown  itself,  and  I  will  avoid  it  henceforth.  Yet 
I  am  not  satisfied  with  a  mere  knowledge  sufficient  to  enable 
me  to  enter  the  Military  Academy.  I  wish  to  obtain  some- 
thing more.  I  am  anxious  to  be  acquainted  with  the  French 
language,  in  which  most  or  all  the  studies  are  clothed  in  that 
school.  It  will  be  of  vast  advantage  to  me  while  there.  It  is 
a  language  which  is  becoming  very  generally  spoken,  more 
particularly  in  the  best  circles  of  society,  and  it  is  an  attain- 
ment truly  desirable.  My  acquaintance  with  the  rudiments 
previous  to  going  there  will  ensure  me  a  more  perfect  knowl- 
edge of  it.  I  saw  a  letter  from  Henderson  (a  young  man 
who  left  this  place  and  went  to  the  Point  to  school)  to  David 
Saunders,  speaking  of  the  different  standings  of  several  boys, 
and  among  them  his  own.  He  remarked  that  he  held  the 
third  standing  on  French  and  the  ninth  on  mathematics, 
which  made  his  general  standing  sixth.  It  appears  that  each 
boy  has  a  separate  standing  arranged  according  to  their 
merit,  and  he  holds  the  sixth  in  a  class  of  a  hundred,  which 
is  very  good.  His  having  studied  French  before  going  there 
entitled  him  to  this  high  rank.  Taking  all  these  things  in 
consideration,  father,  seeing  it  is  impossible  to  pursue  the 
plan  you  have  pointed  out,  and  knowing  the  necessity  of  an 
acquaintance  with  the  French,  of  which  there  is  no  teacher 


JBL 17]    ENTERS  THE  MILITARY  ACADEMY.         69 

on  the  Hill,  I  have  deemed  it  advisable,  with  your  consent, 
to  repair  to  Hillsborough,  after  withdrawing  from  college, 
there  to  study  arithmetic,  French  and  geography  under  Mr. 
Rogers,  who  is  master  of  the  French  language.  The  expense 
will  be  nothing,  as  I  have  paid  only  for  half  the  session's 
board,  which  will  expire  in  a  few  days,  and  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  have  a  "  recruit,"  which  will  answer  as  well  at  Hills- 
borough as  at  this  place.  You  mentioned  in  your  letter  that 
I  would  not  leave  home  for  the  Point  until  after  the  Com- 
mencement at  this  place,  which  will  not  be  until  the  7th  or 
8th  of  June,  and  it  is  required  that  I  should  be  there  by  the 
1st.  It  will  be  necessary  for  me  then  to  leave  by  the  middle 
of  May,  as  I  should  like  to  remain  in  Philadelphia  a  few  days 
with  Mary. 

By  granting  the  above  requests  you  will  very  much  oblige, 
Your  obedient  and  affectionate  son, 

Leonidas  Polk. 

In  the  month  of  June,  1823,  Leonidas  entered  the 
Military  Academy.  Even  among  his  friends  an  impres- 
sion has  prevailed  that,  at  least  during  his  first  year  as 
a  cadet,  he  was  gay,  high-spirited,  not  particularly  stu- 
dious, not  too  scrupulously  observant  of  the  rules  of 
discipline,  and  quite  too  ready  at  times  to  join  in  jovial 
escapades  in  which  the  virtue  of  moderation  was  for- 
gotten. In  that  impression  there  is  an  exceedingly 
small  modicum  of  truth.  That  the  lad  was  high-spirited 
and  frolicsome  there  is  no  doubt ;  but  the  standing  he 
held  in  his  class  sufficiently  proves  that  he  was  not  idle, 
and  if  he  at  any  time  incurred  the  displeasure  of  his 
superiors,  it  was  not  because  he  was  insubordinate  or 
disorderly,  but  because  he  demanded  that  his  superiors, 
as  well  as  himself,  should  obey  the  dictates  of  justice. 
He  was  a  soldier  by  nature;  he  loved  the  discipline 
which  he  knew  to  be  necessary  in  an  army;  and  his 
lofty  self-respect  kept  him  from  secret  evasions  of  his 


70  ALBERT  SIDNEY  JOHNSTON.  [1823 

duty.  Moreover,  he  was  proud  of  the  Academy,  and  so 
eagerly  ambitious  of  its  distinctions  that  an  unmerited 
disappointment  in  his  expectation  of  bearing  off  its 
highest  honors  changed  the  whole  course  of  his  life. 

In  the  selection  of  his  intimates  at  West  Point  he  was 
discreet  and  fortunate,  one  of  his  earliest  and  closest 
friends  being  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  who  was  in  the 
class  next  before  him.  Johnston  was  even  then  the 
seuior  officer  of  the  cadets,  and  had  already  exhibited 
the  qualities  which  in  after-life  made  him  both  honored 
and  distinguished.  Polk  and  Johnston  were  room-mates 
until  the  latter  was  graduated  in  1826,  and  their  friend- 
ship endured  without  a  break  until  the  heroic  Johnston 
fell  on  the  field  of  Shiloh.  Very  many  letters,  written 
chiefly  to  his  parents,  have  been  preserved,  and  give  a 
fairly  full  account  of  Polk's  whole  life  while  at  West 
Point.  After  two  months  spent  in  camp,  he  wrote  to 
his  mother  as  follows,  telling  of  his  association  with 
Johnston,  and  of  recent  visits  to  the  Academy  which 
had  been  made  by  Mr.  Canning  and  General  Scott : 

Camp  Scott,  West  Point, 

August  27,  1823. 
My  dear  Mother :  You  see,  by  the  date  of  my  letter,  that 
we  still  are  in  camp,  but  will  remove  into  barracks  in  a  few 
days,  the  1st  of  September  being  the  appointed  day.  By  that 
time  the  corps,  as  well  as  the  officers,  become  somewhat  tired 
of  a  camp  life  and  desire  a  change.  I  am  also  anxious  to 
return  to  quarters,  yet  by  no  means  do  I  complain  of  my 
present  situation,  for  it  is  such  a  one  as  suits  my  disposition. 
My  anxiety  arisos  from  a  love  of  change  occasionally,  which 
is  certainly  natural  to  us  all.  My  course  during  the  next  year 
will  be  an  agreeable  one,  owing  to  my  good  fortune  as  to 
room-mates ;  they  being  young  men  of  high  standing ;  two 
of  them  Kentuckians,  the  third  a  North  Carolinian.  One  of 
them  from  Kentucky,  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  is  the  senior 


ML  17]  MAJOR-GENERAL   SCOTT.  71 

officer  of  the  cadets,  and  is  popular  among  the  officers  of  the 
staff  on  account  of  his  strict  attention  to  duty  and  steadiness 
of  character.  We  have  most  of  the  great  folks  to  visit  us,  par- 
ticularly at  this  season.  You  may  have  observed  a  quotation 
in  the  Raleigh  Register'  from  the  New  York  Statesman,  written 
by  "A  Traveler,"  giving  a  description  of  Mr.  Canning's  (the 
British  Minister's)  visit  to  the  Point.  It  is  a  very  correct  one, 
though  in  some  places  a  little  florid.  You  will  oblige  me  by 
reading  it,  if  you  have  not  already  done  so,  as  it  will  gratify 
you.  We  have  this  day  passed  a  review  before  General  Scott, 
who  arrived  in  the  steamboat  last  night,  together  with  his 
family,  and  intends  remaining  here  a  week.  The  battalion 
at  twelve  o'clock  formed  in  front  of  the  encampment,  and 
were  marched  on  the  place  opposite  the  General's  quarters 
by  the  instructor  of  cadets,  Major  Worth  ;  then  they  formed 
line  in  order  to  salute  him  when  he  advanced  to  inspect  them, 
the  colors  being  in  the  advance,  the  band  in  the  rear  of  them, 
the  battalion  in  the  rear  of  the  band.  When  everything  was 
in  readiness,  he,  accompanied  by  Colonel  Thayer,  proceeded 
from  his  quarters  and  advanced  in  front  of  the  battalion.  On 
his  approach  the  colors  were  lowered  and  the  battalion  or- 
dered to  present  arms,  which  he  politely  returned  by  "doffing 
his  beaver."  The  band  then  struck  up  a  favorite  march  of 
the  General's,  which  was  soon  followed  by  various  maneuvers 
by  the  cadets.  Mrs.  Scott,  who  was  the  beautiful  Miss  Mayo, 
was  a  spectator;  I  was  too  military,  though,  to  turn  my 
head,  and  therefore  did  not  see  her.  The  General  is  a  much 
larger  man  than  I  had  supposed  him  to  be.  He  is  larger  than 
my  father;  indeed  I  think  him  about  Governor  Holmes's  size, 
yet  not  possessed  of  half  the  Governor's  grace;  in  truth,  he  is 
more  awkward  than  otherwise. 

Your  most  affectionate  son, 

Cadet  Leonidas  Polk. 

In  a  succeeding  letter  he  mentions  his  good  fortune 
in  meeting  Major-General  Gaines,  who  had  been  in  com- 
mand of  the  Department  of  the  South,  and  who  was  so 
much  loved  in  the  army. 


72  MAJOM-GENEBAL   GAINES.  [1823 

I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  an  introduction  to  General 
Gaines,  in  common  with  the  rest  of  my  fellow-soldiers.  He  is 
plain  and  affable  in  his  manners,  and  relieves  a  young  man 
from  that  constraint  he  is  put  under  in  the  presence  of  age, 
superiority  of  rank,  etc.  On  being  introduced  as  Cadet  Polk 
from  North  Carolina — "Polk,"  says  he;  "ah!  son  of  General 
Polk,  I  presume."  "  Yes,  sir,"  was  my  reply,  though  not  with- 
out some  hesitation,  for  I  knew  of  no  General  Polk  of  North 
Carolina,  at  least  so  called  by  its  inhabitants,  though  I  im- 
mediately reflected  that  such  was  my  father's  title,  and  that 
he  was  so  called  by  the  citizens  of  Tennessee,  where  the  Gen- 
eral has  heard  him  spoken  of. 

To  his  father,  after  six  months'  experience,  he  describes 
the  internal  working  of  the  Academy : 

November  16,  1823. 
You  desired  me  to  give  you  an  account  of  this  institution 
of  the  benefits  arising  from  the  course  of  study  (comparing 
it  with  other  institutions),  etc.  I  should  have  done  so  un- 
asked, and  with  pleasure,  before  this,  but  for  supposing  that 
I  had  written  you  on  that  subject.  I  think  in  point  of  mathe- 
matics and  philosophy  and  the  other  sciences  dependent  on 
these  two,  this  institution  is  inferior  to  none  in  the  United 
States,  and  I  may  in  justice  to  ourselves  say  the  world.  This 
may  sound  like  the  empty  declaration  of  boyish  enthusiasm, 
but  it  is  an  opinion  founded  on  that  of  visitors  to  this  place, 
men  of  distinction,  both  foreigners  and  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  who  have  seen  most  literary  institutions  in  Europe. 
The  Polytechnic  in  France  held  deservedly  the  first  standing 
during  the  time  of  Bonaparte,  but  since  that,  it  has  fallen 
through  and  come  into  disrepute.  The  internal  organization 
of  this  Academy  is  a  pattern  from  that,  and  most  of  the 
authors  we  study  are  selected  from  the  French,  some  of  them 
translated  into  English,  others  not.  The  system  of  teaching 
is  such  here  as  to  prevent  the  occurrence  of  an  evil  prevalent 
in  most  of  our  colleges.  I  mean  that  lazy  and  idle  habit 
contracted  by  many  students  which   enables   them   to   be 


Mt.  17]       THE  COUBSE  AT   WEST  POINT.  73 

dragged  barely  at  the  heels  of  their  classes.  At  this  place 
it  is  indispensably  necessary  that  every  one  should  study,  and 
of  course  be  acquainted  with  what  he  studies,  as  the  daily 
examinations  in  the  section  rooms  are  very  rigorous  and  such 
as  to  discover  whether  one  knows  his  lesson  or  not.  If  he 
should  be  found  repeatedly  deficient,  he  is  dismissed  or 
forced  to  resign.  Our  time  is  so  wholly  engrossed  in  our 
academic  duties  that  it  is  impossible  to  devote  any  to  literary 
attainments  privately.  I  should  add,  when  I  speak  of  literary 
attainments,  I  mean  such  as  composition  or  attendance  on 
debating  societies,  etc.  I  was  under  the  impression  before 
coming  here  that  our  knowledge  of  the  French  language 
would  enable  us  to  speak  it  tolerably  fluent.  But  I  find  that 
we  are  only  taught  to  read  it  sufficiently  well  to  prosecute 
our  studies  in  French  with  ease.     Enough  for  the  Academy. 

Our  military  instruction  in  tactics,  etc.,  is  very  good,  as 
there  is  great  care  taken  to  advance  in  both  theory  and 
practice.  This  depends  chiefly,  though,  on  the  cadet  himself, 
whether  or  not  he  gets  into  office.  If  he  does,  he  necessarily 
has  more  duty  to  perform,  and  is  therefore  a  better  soldier. 

Our  officers  —  our  instructors,  I  mean,  in  tactics  —  are  well 
qualified  to  perform  the  duties  which  devolve  on  them,  and 
instill  very  rigid  principles  of  discipline  in  those  under  them, 
which  is  indeed  (recollecting  at  the  same  time  to  whom  I 
address  myself)  the  quintessence  of  a  well-regulated  army. 

In  January,  1824,  Leonidas  passed  his  first  examina- 
tion, and  was  able  to  report  to  his  father  that,  in  a  class 
of  ninety-six,  he  stood  fourth  in  mathematics.  In  French 
he  was  disappointed  to  be  ranked  only  twenty-seventh. 
His  general  standing  was  high,  and  even  in  French  it 
was  above  the  average.  Considering  the  disadvantages 
under  which  he  had  entered,  he  had  reason  to  be  satis- 
fied j  but  he  declared  his  intention  to  gain  a  higher  place, 
if  hard  work  could  accomplish  it.  In  the  month  of  July, 
after  a  year  in  the  Academy,  he  thus  modestly  reports 
his  first  promotion : 


74  APPOINTED   STAFF  SERGEANT.  [1824 

I  am  now  pleasantly  situated  in  camp,  tenting  with  Mr. 
Donaldson.  When  I  first  arrived,  I  found  I  was  the  fairest 
cadet  in  the  corps,  but  after  performing  two  or  three  "  tours 
of  guard,"  I  was  quite  in  uniform.  So  great  is  the  influence 
of  the  sun.  I  am  relieved  from  that  duty  now  by  the  Major's 
honoring  me  with  an  appointment  on  the  staff,  which  oc- 
curred two  days  since.  I  attend  to  no  military  duty  at  this 
time  whatsoever,  but  am  attached  to  the  adjutant's  depart- 
ment, and  do  nothing  but  write.  Following  the  precedent 
of  the  last  two  years,  the  office  would  have  been  given  to  the 
head  of  the  class ;  yet  the  Major  has  seen  fit  to  vary  from  it 
in  the  present  instance.  The  appointment  is  that  of  staff 
sergeant.1 

The  young  cadet  had  made  an  impression  on  his  com- 
rades, as  well  as  on  his  superiors,  which  remained  un- 
changed to  the  end  of  his  life.  Fifty  years  later,  one  of 
them  expressed  the  general  feeling  concerning  him  in 
these  words :  "I  knew  him  as  a  cadet,  and  during  his 
career  as  a  bishop.  He  was  always  the  same,  a  conscien- 
tious, persevering,  daring  man.  At  West  Point  he  was 
a  boy  of  fine  presence,  fine  form,  graceful  bearing,  full 
of  life,  ready  for  anything,  generous,  consistent.  What 
he  believed  to  be  right  he  would  do."  His  promotion 
aroused  no  envy  in  his  comrades,2  and  his  diligence  as  a 

1  The  major  here  mentioned  was  Major,  afterward  General,  Worth, 
between  whom  and  Polk  an  affectionate  friendship  existed  for  many 
years.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Mexican  War,  Bishop  Polk  sent  his  own 
saddle-horse,  an  unusually  fine  animal,  to  his  old  commander.  It  was 
ridden  by  the  General  during  the  war.  It  was  severely  wounded,  and 
was  returned  by  General  Worth  at  the  close  of  the  war  in  order  that  it 
might  be  properly  cared  for.  The  rest  of  its  life  was  passed  as  a  pen- 
sioner in  the  blue-grass  fields  of  Mr.  George  Polk,  and  for  years  it  was  a 
source  of  never-ending  amusement  to  the  children  of  the  family,  whose 
delight  it  was  to  play  with  the  gallant  old  war-horse  and  rouse  his  mar- 
tial spirit  by  beating  drums  and  even  old  kettles. 

2  Among  these  comrades  were:  Robert  Anderson,  Major-General, 
U.  S.  A. ;  Charles  P.  Smith,  Major-General,  U.  S.  A. ;  Albert  Sidney  John- 


Mt  18]   LAFAYETTE  BALL  IN  NEW  YORK.  75 

student  was  so  exemplary  that  in  his  third  year  he 
ranked  as  one  of  the  "  first  six  "  of  his  class.  His  letters 
to  his  father  were  joyous,  but  punctiliously  respectful. 
In  September,  1824,  he  wrote : 

We  are  very  comfortably  situated  in  barracks  now,  and  all 
things  go  on  smoothly,  save  the  existence  of  a  little  irritation 
of  feeling,  which  is  the  necessary  concomitant  of  all  those  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  "  path  "  of  the  Marquis,  or  General,  Lafa- 
yette. You  will  have  perceived  by  the  papers  that  he  has 
returned  to  New  York  from  his  visit  to  Boston  aniidst  as 
many  demonstrations  of  joy  as  when  he  first  reached  that 
city.  He  is  to  attend  on  Monday  night  a  very  splendid  ball 
to  be  given  him  in  that  place,  in  Chatham  Garden,  which  is 
floored  over  and  will  contain,  I  understand,  upwards  of  5000 
persons.  On  the  day  after  he  is  to  honor  us  with  his  pres- 
ence,— we  are  to  do  him  all  possible  military  honors,  stun  him 
with  the  roar  of  cannon,  drill  until  he  is  tired  of  us,  and  as  a 
dinner  will  be  given  him,  if  he  remains  until  night,  he  will 
have  a  levee!  Between  this  place  and  Newburg,  the  inhabit- 
ants have,  I  understand,  crowned  the  most  prominent  heights 
with  hosts  of  tar  barrels  (North  Carolina  will  thrive)  which 
are  to  be  fired  as  he  passes  upwards.  This  he  is  to  do  in 
the  night,  of  course. 

He  took  a  boyish  pride  in  the  distinction  conferred  on 
his  father  in  the  reception  of  General  Lafayette,  and 
was  anxious  that  the  old  North  State  should  appear  to 

ston,  General,  C.  S.  A. ;  S.  P.  Heintzelman,  Major-General,  U.  S.  A. ; 
A.  B.  Eaton,  Major-General,  U.  S.  A.;  Silas  Casey,  Major-General,  U.  S.  A.; 
Jefferson  Davis,  President,  C.  S.  A. ;  Robert  E.  Lee,  General,  C.  S.  A. ; 
Joseph  E.  Johnston,  General,  C.  S.  A. ;  O.  M.  Mitchell,  Major-General, 
U.  S.  A. ;  W.  Hoffman,  Major-General,  U.  S.  A. ;  T.  Swords,  Major-Gen- 
eral, U.  S.  A. ;  A.  A.  Humphreys,  Major-General,  U.  S.  A. ;  W.  H.  Emory, 
Major-General,  U.  S.  A. ;  Samuel  B.  Curtis,  Major-General,  U.  S.  A. ; 
Humphrey  Marshall,  Major-General,  C.  S.  A. ;  Alexander  Dallas  Bache, 
Professor ;  A.  E.  Church,  Professor ;  W.  W.  Mather,  Professor ;  A.  T. 
Bledsoe,  Professor ;  George  W.  Cass,  Civil  Engineer. 


76  LAFAYETTE  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.       [1824 

advantage  on  that  occasion.  At  the  same  time  he  re- 
ports that  he  has  entered  on  the  study  of  fluxions, 
which  he  has  found  to  be  difficult,  but  "  subservient  to 
application."  In  the  same  letter  he  mentions  the  begin- 
ning of  an  indisposition  which  continued,  with  intervals 
of  relief,  for  several  years,  and  at  one  time  threatened 
to  close  his  career  by  an  early  death. 

By  the  National  Intelligencer  I  observe  it  stated  that  Gen- 
eral Lafayette  and  suite  set  out  for  the  South  on  the  twenty  - 
third  of  the  last  month.  He  has  now,  I  presume,  arrived  at 
Raleigh,  and  is  at  this  time  probably  receiving  the  hearty  con- 
gratulations of  its  citizens. 

I  am  happy  to  hear  of  the  distinctions  that  are  paid  you  on 
this  occasion.  All  other  considerations  aside,  it  evinces  on 
the  part  of  our  citizens  a  willingness  still  to  single  out  and 
honor  at  every  opportunity  the  remainiDg  survivors  of  our 
glorious  Revolution.  It  is  a  just  tribute  and  one  which 
should  be  paid  by  the  remotest  posterity,  were  it  possible  for 
them  to  live  and  receive  it. 

I  confidently  trust  that  the  reception  of  the  General  in  North 
Carolina  will  do  much  honor  to  the  State.  We  are  greatly  in 
the  background  in  matters  and  things  generally,  but  from  the 
decisive  steps  that  have  been  taken,  I  am  constrained  to 
believe  that  we  will  not  be  on  this  occasion.  We  cannot,  it  is 
true,  parade  as  many  brilliantly  caparisoned  troops,  at  once, 
to  discharge  so  many  pieces  of  artillery,  or  show  as  much 
pomp  and  splendor  on  the  occasion,  as  some  of  our  Northern 
brethren ;  yet  I  presume  we  can  bring  forward  as  much 
staunch  civility,  cordiality,  and  hearty  welcome  as  most  of 
them.  In  conclusion  with  this  subject  I  have  only  to  express 
my  sincere  regret  at  the  necessity  of  my  absence  from  partici- 
pating in  the  universal  joy  which  will  reign  during  his  stay 
with  you. 

We  progress  here  as  usual,  following  closely  the  same 
routine  of  duty.  I  have,  since  the  examination,  been  studying 
a  subject  not  prosecuted,  I  believe,  in  our  University,  at 


Mt.  19]         "A   PATCH  FOB   OLD  SHIIU'S."  77 

least  when  I  was  there, —  fluxions.  At  first,  as  is  usual  with 
almost  all  studies,  it  appeared  pretty  difficult,  but,  like  all 
other  mathematics,  was  readily  subservient  to  application. 
To  the  study  of  the  works  of  the  more  learned  philosophers, 
Newton,  Gregory,  etc.,  it  is  indispensable, — all  of  the  phi- 
losophy of  the  former  is  based  in  fact  upon  the  principles  of 
fluxions. 

Excepting  a  bad  cold  and  sore  throat  which  I  now  have, 
my  health  has  been  very  good. 

Another  letter  written  by  Leonidas  to  his  mother  con- 
tains an  allusion  to  "  a  patch  for  old  shirts,"  which 
" patch"  came  near  getting  him  into  trouble  with  the 
authorities. 

West  Point,  April  18,  1825. 

My  dear  Mother:  It  is  so  customary  to  begin  letters  with 
excuses  for  the  writer's  own  negligence,  and  to  detail  the  long 
catalogue  of  uncontrollable  events  that  has  been  the  cause  of 
it  all;  or  to  complain  of  and  criminate  the  remissness  of  cor- 
respondents, that  I  feel  that  I  should  be  ashamed  to  say  aught 
of  either.  Yet,  notwithstanding,  I  cannot  refrain  from  tell- 
ing you  that  I  have  been  a  long  time  patiently  awaiting  a 
letter  from  you.  It  is  true,  through  others  I  frequeutly  hear 
from  you.   I  wish,  however,  to  see  the  scratch  of  your  own  pen. 

Pa's  last  very  acceptable  letter  came  to  hand  in  due  sea- 
son, enclosing  a  "patch  for  old  shirts."  I  did  not  intend,  as 
he  seems  to  have  understood  me,  that  I  actually  put  on  two 
shirts  at  once,  as  the  term  "doubling "  would  seem  to  convey. 
Double  they  were,  it  is  true ;  this  was  done  by  my  washman, 
and  when  they  came  into  my  hands  they  were  "two  single 
gentlemen  rolled  into  one,"  so  that  our  shirts  had,  as  our  pro- 
fessor tells  us  some  mathematical  points  have,  the  very  re- 
markable property  of  being  two  and  one  at  the  same  time. 

With  us  to-day  has  been  quite  an  uncommon  one,  having 
on  it  commenced  a  general  review  of  our  course  since  last 
January.  I  also  began  the  study  and  practice  of  surveying. 
To  say  yet  how  I  like  the  latter  might  be  premature,  inas- 


78  STUDIES  SURVEYING.  [1825 

much  as  we  have  only  had  the  use  of  the  instruments  taught 
us,  and  the  general  principles  of  it  explained.  So  far,  how- 
ever, I  am  well  satisfied,  and  as  I  have  determined  to  be  more 
so,  and  if  possible  learn  it  well,  it  is  highly  probable  I  will 
not  be  much  encumbered  with  it. 

With  regard  to  Hamilton  and  Harry,  I  fear  that  my 
father  will  be  unable  to  obtain  warrants  for  them,  at  least  for 
the  former,  so  long  as  I  remain  here.  There  was  at  the  last 
session  of  Congress  introduced  into  the  Senate  by  Mr.  Macon 
a  bill  to  prevent  the  education  of  more  than  one  of  the  same 
family  (brothers,  as  I  understand  it)  at  this  institution  j  and 
also  to  limit  the  number  of  cadets  to  the  number  of  Congres- 
sional Representatives.  I  recollect  afterward  to  have  seen 
the  report  of  the  committee  to  which  this  bill  was  referred, 
that  this  clause  referring  to  the  limitation  of  the  number  was 
considered  inexpedient,  though  I  am  not  positive  about  the 
other.  This,  however,  I  have  heard,  that  Major  Worth,  as 
commandant  of  the  corps,  applied  for  an  appointment  for  a 
brother  of  his,  and  that  the  Secretary  of  War  informed  him 
he  could  not  now  have  it,  though  he  would  grant  it  on  the 
1st  of  September  next,  by  which  time  another  brother  who  is 
now  here  shall  have  graduated  and  left  the  Academy. 

I  have  also  heard  that  the  cadets  for  1826  were  appointed 
by  Secretary  Calhoun  before  he  left  the  War  Department; 
whether  by  request  or  otherwise,  or  whether  the  report  is 
true,  I  am  unable  to  say,  as  it  came  very  indirectly. 

As  yet  we  have  not  heard  of  any  intention  of  marching 
the  corps  from  this  point.  With  regard  to  my  intended  dis- 
posal of  myself  during  the  ensuing  vacation,  I  have  concluded, 
for  reasons  before  stated  to  my  father,  though  at  that  time 
not  determined  on,  to  remain  at  the  Point.  It  is  more  than 
probable  I  shall  visit  North  Carolina  one  year  hence.  This 
too  depends  upon  a  contingency. 

The  superintendent  of  the  Academy  at  that  time,  and 
for  many  years  after,  was  Colonel  Sylvanus  Thayer,  a 
competent  soldier  and  an  accomplished  officer,  who  was 
laudably  desirous  to  improve  the  discipline  of  the  in- 


ML  19]         ESPIONAGE  AT   WEST  POINT.  79 

stitution.  It  may  be  doubted  whether  some  of  Colonel 
Thayer's  methods  were  entirely  judicious.  He  had  the 
misfortune  to  inspire  some  of  the  cadets  with  resentment 
at  what  they  considered  a  system  of  espionage,  and  also 
with  a  feeling  that,  in  the  correction  of  practices  which 
he  disapproved,  his  awards  of  punishment  were  not 
justly  distributed.  For  a  time,  but  only  for  a  time, 
Cadet  Polk  shared  in  the  feelings  of  his  comrades. 
There  was  a  standing  regulation  of  the  Academy  which 
forbade  the  cadets  to  receive  money  from  home  without 
the  knowledge  of  the  superintendent ;  but  the  regulation 
had  been  tacitly  ignored  and  had  become  virtually  obso- 
lete. One  day  Colonel  Thayer  startled  Polk  by  saying 
very  positively,  "  You  have  received  money  from  home, 
sir."  Polk  supposed  that  his  father  must  have  written 
to  the  colonel  mentioning  the  circumstance,  and  instantly 
replied  that  he  had  received  money.  He  was  thereupon 
admonished  that  he  must  literally  obey  the  regulations 
on  that  subject.  He  explained  that  the  pay  he  was  re- 
ceiving from  the  government  had  been  insufficient  to 
supply  him  with  actual  necessaries  and  conveniences, 
that  he  had  been  obliged  to  contract  debts  for  articles 
of  ordinary  comfort,  and  that  he  was  then  in  debt  for 
such  articles.  On  leaving  the  colonel  he  thought  noth- 
ing more  of  the  subject  until  he  received  a  letter  from 
his  father,  from  which  it  appeared  that  Colonel  Thayer's 
information  had  not  been  received  from  Colonel  Polk ; 
and  on  making  further  inquiry,  he  was  disgusted  to  learn 
that  the  report  against  him  had  been  made  by  a  tale- 
bearing postmaster  who  had  acted  as  a  spy  and  had  seen 
him  open,  the  letter  in  which  his  father's  remittance, 
that  "patch  for  old  shirts,"  had  been  contained.  The 
indignation  of  the  young  cadet  on  making  this  discov- 
ery was  warmly  expressed  in  a  letter  to  his  father,  in 


80  A    TALE-BEARING  POSTMASTER.  [1825 

which,  for  a  moment,  he  showed  himself  to  be  on  the 
verge  of  deliberate  insubordination. 

The  colonel  will  not  hesitate  a  moment  to  receive  any  in- 
formation from  any  source  concerning  us ;  there  are  a  great 
many  individuals  (of  all  ranks)  on  the  Point,  who  act  as  his 
emissaries,  and  whose  duty  it  is  to  spy  out  secretly  and  re- 
port all  infraction  of  regulations.  One  of  these  ferrets  it  was 
(I  had  it  from  himself),  fashioned  into  the  form  of  a  postmas- 
ter, and  laboring  not  only  under  the  weight  of  honor,  but 
also  of  that  of  the  oaths  of  office,  who  conveyed  the  intelli- 
gence. This  was  not  known  to  me  at  the  time  Colonel 
Thayer  spoke  to  me  about  it,  or  I  should  have- put  him  to  the 
test  by  asking  him  for  his  author.  It  was  my  impression, 
from  his  saying  very  positively,  u  You  have  received  money 
from  home,  sir,"  that  probably  you  had  written  to  him  stat- 
ing the  circumstances  attending  the  transmission,  and  I  very 
unhesitatingly  answered  that  I  had.  He  then  went  on  des- 
canting on  the  necessity  of  obeying  literally  the  regulations 
and  such  like.  I  told  him  that  the  money  paid  me  by  the 
government  was  found  to  be  insufficient  to  satisfy  my  actual 
wants  and  moderate  convenience,  and  therefore  I  had  applied 
for  the  deficit  to  you.  Shirts  I  was  obliged  to  have,  and  I  was 
more  in  debt  at  that  time  than  I  ever  expected  to  be  when  I 
came  here.  He  said,  I  suspect,  pretty  much  the  same  that  he 
wrote  to  you,  about  merit,  conduct,  etc.,  and  we  separated. 
The  doubt,  if  any  there  was,  of  the  postmaster,  was  turned 
into  certainty,  when  I,  very  indiscreetly,  opened  the  letter  in 
his  presence,  not  suspecting  he  was  the  man  he  has  proved  to 
be.  Leaving  to  you  to  judge  of  such  conduct  as  the  above 
on  the  part  of  the  head  of  an  institution  like  this,  I  will 
merely  say  that  I  was  sorry  to  hear  you  have  stated  to  the 
superintendent  that  such  an  infraction  should  not  again 
occur,  for  I  am  now  in  want  of  flannels  and  other  things 
which  money  must  buy.  And  besides  I  have  touched  but 
$5  of  my  pay  for  the  last  five  or  six  months.  By  accurate 
calculation  I  could  not,  if  I  were  freed  from  debt,  receive  but 
$6  per  month  of  the  $28  which  are  allowed  us,  so  many  stop- 


Mb.  19]  A   CADET'S  FINANCES.  81 

pages  have  there  been  made  upon  our  pay,  and  out  of  this 
six  dollars  I  have  to  pay  the  tailor,  shoemaker,  and  merchant 
for  such  articles  as  may  be  wanted.  But,  exactly  like  nine- 
teen twentieths  of  the  corps,  I  am  indebted  to  the  aforesaid 
tailor,  merchant,  etc.,  the  major  part  of  my  next  month's  pay, 
and  this  has  been  the  case  for  many  months,  and  things  are 
so  arranged  that  there  seems  to  be  no  remedy.  Not  even  the 
rigid  economy  of  the  Yankees  can  withstand  it.  Keeping  us 
in  debt  is  said  to  be  the  superintendent's  policy,  thereby  pre- 
venting us  from  spending  our  money  for  trifles.  For  one,  1 
should  rather  consult  my  own  wishes  and  sense  of  propriety. 

Thirteen  of  us  board  with  an  old  lady  to  whom  we  pay  for 
better  fare  $2  per  month  more  than  is  paid  at  the  mess-house. 
I  am  also  allowed  a  waiter,  to  whom  I  pay  $2  per  month.  I 
was  under  the  impression  that  I  had  mentioned  the  receipt  of 
the  note  in  the  spring  in  a  letter  to  you.  The  one  by  William 
Baylow  was  received  also,  which  was  very  seasonable.  I  was 
making  my  arrangements  for  a  trip  to  New  York,  which 
would  have  certainly  failed  but  for  its  reaching  me  just  then. 

I  have  no  news  to  write  that  would  interest  you.  Our  ex- 
amination is  approaching,  and  all  are,  as  usual,  making  vig- 
orous preparations.  Up  to  this  period  I  have  never  in  North 
Carolina  experienced  so  pleasant  a  fall.  We  have  had  but 
one  slight  fall  of  snow  which  did  not  lie  four  hours. 

The  examinations  to  which  Polk  refers  in  this  letter, 
and  on  which  his  distinction  as  a  cadet  was  so  largely 
to  depend,  resulted  in  a  bitter  disappointment.  In  the 
drawing  exercises  of  the  Academy  a  practice  had  long 
prevailed,  with  the  knowledge  of  the  instructors,  which 
was  doubtless  objectionable,  and  which  was  finally  pro- 
hibited by  Colonel  Thayer.  The  prohibition  was  dis- 
regarded, the  cadets  choosing  to  take  the  risk  of  their 
disobedience,  and  taking  it  for  granted  that  the  conse- 
quences would  be  equitably  meted  out.  Unquestionably 
Colonel  Thayer  was  right  in  maintaining  discipline ;  but 
he  aroused  in  them  a  strong  feeling  of  antagonism  by 


82  COMPLAINS  TO   THE  SECRETARY.         [1826 

the  inequality  of  the  punishments  awarded  in  this  ease. 
Polk  was  one  of  the  chief  sufferers  by  Colonel  Thayer's 
judgment.  The  consequence  to  him  was  a  lowering  of 
his  standing  in  his  class  to  an  extent  which  was  not  just, 
since  nearly  the  whole  class  had  been  equally  in  fault. 
His  conduct  was  prompt  and  characteristic.  He  ad- 
dressed a  letter  of  complaint  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 
and  forwarded  it,  as  the  regulations  required,  through 
Colonel  Thayer  himself.  It  was  a  boyish  letter,  but  it 
was  also  a  manly  one,  and  may  here  be  given  in  full. 

U.  S.  M.  A.,  West  Point,  Jan.  23, 1826. 
Honorable  Jas.  Barbour. 

Sir:  The  regulations  governing  the  Academy  prescribe: 
that  in  case  a  cadet,  feeling  himself  aggrieved  by  the  author- 
ities immediately  over  him,  applies  to  the  superintendent  for 
relief,  and  is  by  him  refused,  such  cadet  may  then  appeal  to 
the  Department  of  War  through  the  hands  of  the  superin- 
tendent, whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  forward  the  appeal  to  the 
Secretary  of  War  for  his  examination  and  order  thereon. 
Being  one  of  those  individuals  coming  under  the  provision 
of  the  above  article,  I  proceed  now  to  submit  my  grievance, 
together  with  other  facts,  which  it  will  be  first  necessary  to 
state. 

For  many  years  past,  it  has  been  customary  with  the  great 
majority  of  such  cadets  as  were  engaged  in  drawing  either 
to  place  the  paper,  on  which  they  intended  to  draw  a  piece, 
over  the  copy  representing  it,  and  thereby  seeing  the  princi- 
pal points  or  lines,  to  dot  or  trace  them  on  said  paper,  or  to 
arrive  at  the  same  by  measuring  distances  with  strips  of 
paper,  pencils,  etc.  Establishing  thus  the  most  remarkable 
objects,  they  sketch  off  the  rest  from  sight.  This  practice 
being  detrimental  to  the  progress  of  the  classes  in  learning 
how  to  "sketch"  was  censured  by  the  teacher,  and  finally 
prohibited  by  an  order  from  the  superintendent.  So  much, 
however,  was  added  to  the  appearance  of  their  drawings  by 
such  means  that  cadets  were  willing  to  risk  violating  the 


Mb  20 j    TROUBLE  IN  THE   DBA  WING-CLASS.       83 

order,  and  ready  to  abide  by  the  consequences,  provided  each 
suffered  in  proportion  to  the  magnitude  of  his  offense. 

In  the  order  of  the  superintendent  alluded  to,  it  was  stated 
that  an  improper  advantage  was  taken  of  their  fellows,  by 
those  using  those  means.  To  this  it  was  answered  that  since 
the  practice  was  of  such  long  standing,  so  general  that  it 
might  be  called  universal,  and  since  they  traced  without  the 
semblance  of  secrecy  toward  each  other,  its  criminality  was 
lessened  to  almost  nothing,  and  their  perfect  openness  seemed 
very  little  like  a  wish  on  their  part  to  defraud  those  thus 
looking  at  them.  At  the  late  examination,  the  Academic 
Staff— by  what  law  or  authority  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  — 
authorized  a  committee  of  its  body  to  send  for  particular  in- 
dividuals of  the  drawing-classes,  and  to  ask  them,  if  per- 
chance guilty,  to  convict  themselves,  by  their  own  confessions, 
of  an  infraction  of  regulations.  Accordingly,  of  those  called 
on,  consisting  of  about  half  the  second  and  one  of  the  third 
class,  but  two  or  three  denied  that  they  had  either  "traced" 
or  "measured,"  two  refused  to  answer  at  all;  the  rest  ac- 
knowledged that  they  had  done  either  the  one  or  the  other, 
or  both,  stating  that  it  had  been  general,  and,  so  far  as  our 
knowledge  extended,  always  practiced.  I,  who  was  one  of 
this  number,  appealed  to  the  assistant  teacher  who  was  near 
at  hand,  and  who  had  himself  but  lately  been  a  cadet.  He 
very  readily  testified  to  the  fact. 

Of  those  who  confessed,  one  was  placed  fifth,  two  or  three 
distributed  among  those  not  called  on,  the  remainder  arranged 
in  order  at  the  foot  of  the  class.  Of  those  who  refused  one 
alone  was  found  deficient ;  the  other,  who  was  last  year  second 
in  his  class  in  drawing,  and  now  stands  deservedly  among 
the  first  draftsmen  in  the  corps,  was  absolutely  put  foot  of 
the  whole,  —  he  who  was  deficient  excepted  of  course.  Upon 
what  grounds  the  gentleman  placed  so  high  was  assigned 
there  is  entirely  unaccountable,  since  he  acknowledged  to 
the  Staff  he  had  either  measured  or  traced  the  whole  of  his 
pieces,  more  or  less,  whilst  others  culpable  in  a  far  less  degree 
were  placed  much  below  him.  On  what  principle,  it  may  be 
equally  well  asked,  did  they  give  the  gentleman  placed  foot, 


84  A   SENSE   OF  INJUSTICE.  [1826 

his  standing  ?  Had  he  pleaded  guilty  of  the  charges  alleged 
against  him,  they  must  at  least,  by  the  rule  which  seems  to 
have  governed  them,  have  placed  him  at  the  head  of  those 
who  did  plead  guilty;  the  very  reverse  has  occurred,  he  has 
been  put  foot.  We  are  then  left  to  the  conclusion,  that  in 
placing  him  so  low  they  sought  rather  to  punish  him  for  his 
refusal  than  to  render  to  him  his  just  merit. 

That  of  which  I  particularly  complain  is,  that  select  indi- 
viduals only  were  suspected  and  called  on,  and  that  the  whole 
were  not  placed  on  the  same  footing,  especially  since  it  was 
known,  because  it  was  told,  that  the  practice  was  general. 
After  the  publication  of  the  rule  assigning  us  our  places, 
several  who  thought  that  duty  to  themselves  required  they 
should  ask  the  superintendent  to  put  the  remainder  of  the 
class  to  the  same  test,  in  order  that  equal  justice  should  be 
distributed  to  all,  did  so.  His  reply  amounted  to  this :  Gen- 
erally, if  applications  were  made  to  him  during  the  examina- 
tions, he  would  submit  them  to  the  Academic  Board :  since, 
however,  the  examination  had  closed,  he  did  not  think  proper  to 
reassemble  the  Board.  Submission  therefore  was  the  only 
alternative. 

Such  a  refusal  could  not  have  been  expected.  The  petition 
was  simply  for  justice  and  an  equality  of  privileges,  which  we 
were  unquestionably  entitled  to  and  should  have  received.  It 
will  probably  be  said  the  reason  why  the  rest  of  the  class 
were  not  questioned  was,  that  it  might  lead  to  the  necessity 
of  recalling  the  published  roll  and  issuing  a  new  one,  thereby 
setting  a  precedent  dangerous  to  the  future  quiet  of  the  in- 
stitution. In  this  I  grant  there  is  plausibility.  Yet  if  it  be 
once  established  that  this  precedent  shall  never  be  set  aside, 
that  a  roll  of  merit  once  made  public  shall  never  be  altered, 
how  far  could  not  the  Academic  Staff  go  in  any  system  of 
persecution  they  might  choose  to  adopt  ?  If  ever  there  was  a 
time  for  investigation,  this  is  it.  Not  one  or  two  individuals 
only  have  been  injured  by  this  act,  but  the  half  of  a  class. 
We  have  pursued  the  opposite  course :  gone  to  the  superin- 
tendent for  satisfaction,  who  has  received  us  as  stated.  I 
therefore,  sir,  claim  of  you  that  protection  and  redress  which 


JEt.20]  FILIAL  CONFIDENCE.  85 

is  as  due  to  me  as  I  confidently  trust  it  will  be  readily 
rendered  by  you. 

With  sentiments  of  high  respect,  etc., 

Cadet  Leonidas  Polk. 

To  Honorable  James  Barbour,  Secretary  of  War. 

Leonidas  had  no  concealments  from  his  father  on  this 
subject.     On  February  8th  he  wrote  as  follows : 

U.  S.  M.  A.,  West  Point,  Feb.  8, 1826. 
Dear  Father :  The  examination  closed  on  Saturday,  twenty- 
first  ult.,  with  that  of  my  section  in  philosophy.  By  the  re- 
port of  the  Board  I  have  been  declared  fifth  in  that  branch, 
as  also  in  chemistry.  My  standing  in  drawing,  the  remain- 
ing subject  of  my  course,  is  thirty-second.  In  regard  to  this 
latter  I  feel  it  incumbent  on  me  to  state  that  it  is  as  unjust 
as  it  is  injurious  to  my  general  standing  in  the  institution. 
In  order  that  you  should  understand  why  it  is  of  such  a 
nature,  I  have  thought  proper  to  send  you  the  accompanying 
copy  of  a  letter  addressed  by  me  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 
which  Colonel  Thayer,  through  whose  hands  it  must  necessa- 
rily pass,  has  assured  me  he  would  transmit.  That  I,  as  well 
as  others  therein  stated,  have  been  wronged,  is  as  certain  as 
that  we  have  existence.  And  I  do  not  despair,  notwithstand- 
ing the  repeated  assurances  of  the  colonel  to  the  contrary, 
lest  my  letter  should  fail  to  produce  the  desired  effect. 
Doubtless  he  will  urge  on  the  Department  strong  reasons  to 
support  the  course  he  has  taken,  predicated,  I  presume,  on 
the  "good  of  the  institution."  He  sent  for  me  on  the  night 
following  the  morning  on  which  I  handed  him  my  letter  to 
come  to  his  house.  It  was  for  the  purpose  of  suggesting  an 
alteration  in  his  reply  to  me,  on  the  day  I  called  on  him  for  a 
redress  of  my  grievance,  which  reply  was  a  part  of  the  letter 
to  the  Secretary.  The  alteration  desired,  not  affecting  the 
object  of  my  writing,  was,  after  some  conversation,  acceded  to 
and  inserted.  This  will  account  for  the  disfigured  appearance 
of  that  part  of  the  copy.  During  all  our  conversation,  which 
afterward  turned  on  other  things  connected  with  this  matter, 


86  A    QUESTION   OF  CLASS  STANDING.      [1826 

he  seemed  desirous  to  be  thought  in  a  very  good  humor. 
Once  forgetting  himself,  I  suppose,  he  acknowledged  that 
oversight  may  have  been  made  by  the  committee  whose  duty 
it  was  to  determine  the  merit  in  drawing,  as  they  made  great 
despatch  in  this  examination,  with  the  view  of  closing  it  on 
one  day.  This,  I  told  him,  was  a  very  forcible  argument  in 
favor  of  a  reinspection  of  the  drawings.  He  would  not  con- 
sent that  such  should  be  done,  but  observed  that  as  to  my 
case  he  would  make  inquiry  of  the  committee,  and  if  he 
found  that  certain  pieces  of  mine  had  not  been  considered 
(and  I  am  confident  they  were  not,  as,  if  they  were,  my  whole 
class  will,  without  hesitation,  say  that  the  greatest  injustice 
has  been  done  me),  he  would  then  let  me  know  what  course 
he  should  pursue.  Since  then  I  have  not  seen  him,  to  ask  for 
the  result  of  his  inquiry,  though  from  him  I  feel  afraid  that 
no  satisfaction  can  be  derived.  I  am  now  waiting  for  the 
issue  of  my  complaint  to  the  Secretary.  Many  others  of  my 
class  have  written  like  letters  to  members  of  Congress  request- 
ing their  aid  and  influence  in  procuring  an  investigation. 
Senator  Johnson,  of  Kentucky,  in  reply  to  Cadet  Bibb's  re- 
quest, has  promised  his  aid,  and  observed  that  he  had  often 
thought  that  cadets  were  frequently  unjustly  oppressed. 
Such  injustice  as  has  been  thus  exemplified  needs,  I  have 
thought,  only  to  be  plainly  shown  to  be  plainly  seen,  so  that 
I  have  represented  the  whole  affair,  as  well  for  as  against 
myself,  in  as  plain  and  forcible  manner  as  I  could  to  the  Sec- 
retary alone.  If  justice  has  not  given  place  to  military  or 
rather  despotic  notions  of  blind  obedience  in  all  cases,  I  may 
hope  for  my  proper  merit.  Wm.  Baylow  is  tenth  in  mathe- 
matics and  sixth  in  French. 

The  action  of  the  Secretary  of  War  was  what  might 
have  been  expected.  The  conclusion  of  the  matter  is 
stated  in  a  letter  dated  April  2,  1826. 

West  Point,  April  2, 1826. 
My  dear  Father :  I  have  received  your  letter  on  the  subject 
of  my  standing  in  drawing,  etc.,  and  I  am  happy  in  being 


ML  20]  DECISION  OF  THE  SECRET  AMY  OF  WAR.  87 

able  to  state  that  before  its  receipt,  having  heard  from  the 
Secretary  of  War,  whose  decision  was  against  me,  I  had 
pursued  the  course  therein  advised  by  you.  The  Secretary 
noticed  our  complaints  in  orders.  He  approved  the  course 
of  the  Board,  and  concluded  by  solacing  us  with  the  idea 
of  there  being  between  the  date  of  our  complaints  and  the 
next  ensuing  examination  six  months,  and  by  exhorting  us 
during  that  period  diligently  to  apply  ourselves,  adding  that 
at  its  expiration  "we  would  receive  such  standings  as  an 
impartial  decision  should  award." 

For  this  I  was  not  prepared.  I  did  not  (as  did  many) 
expect  he  would  annul  the  proceeding  of  the  Board,  and 
give  us  new  standings  by  the  aid  of  others  whom  he  might 
select;  or  that  he  would  at  all  reflect  on  their  decisions, — at 
least,  if  he  should,  it  would  never  be  known  to  us.  If  he  did 
anything,  of  which  I  had  my  doubts,  that,  I  believed,  would 
be  to  instruct,  or  rather  request,  the  Board  of  Visitors  in 
turn  to  have  questioned  all  of  the  members  of  the  class 
relative  to  tracing,  and  have  their  answers  considered  in 
making  out  the  standing.  This  would  have  been  a  kind  of 
compromise,  would  have  secured  to  us  our  just  rights,  and 
allowed  the  Board  and  others  a  fair  opportunity  of  judging 
of  our  merits.  He  thought  fit,  however,  to  decide  otherwise, 
and  if  most  of  us  could  wield  our  quills  with  as  full  power 
as  does  any  experienced  engraver  his  carving-knife,  we 
would  be  unable,  from  the  blow  we  received  in  January, 
to  reach  in  June  anything  like  our  proper  places.  From 
considerations  such  as  those  mentioned  by  you,  and  from 
a  firm  conviction  of  the  propriety  of  such  a  course*,  and 
worse  than  folly  of  any  other,  I  determined  to  abide  tacitly 
by  the  decision  of  the  Secretary,  not  at  all,  however,  shaken 
in  my  opinions  in  regard  to  the  matter.  I  am  aware  of 
the  high  estimation  in  which  the  Staff  and  superintendent 
in  particular  are  held  by  the  government,  and  know  conse- 
quently the  difficulty  I  had  to  contend  with  in  making  my 
complaint.  I  felt  aggrieved ;  the  Regulations  of  the  Academy 
point  out  a  course  to  those  thus  situated.  I  pursued  that 
course,  and  the  highest  authority  by  them  recognized  having 


88  MORTIFICATION.  [182C 

decided  against  me,  I  did  not  conceive  the  grievance  so 
oppressive  as  to  require  either  a  further  appeal  or  procedure 
of  any  kind.  My  general  merit  may,  and  doubtless  will, 
be  affected  materially  by  my  standing  in  drawing.  It  should 
be  certainly  the  desire  of  every  young  man  to  aim  at  a  re- 
spectable position  among  his  fellow -students,  wherever  he 
may  be  put  to  school.  Such  is  my  wish,  as  much  or  more, 
I  need  not  add,  on  others'  account  than  my  own. 

Five  years  after  graduation  will  obliterate  the  fact  of  an 
individual's  standing  here  or  there,  or,  if  it  is  recollected,  it 
will  be  said,  perhaps,  that  he  obtained  it  for  having  a  knack 
at  small  things,  great  plodding,  and  the  like.  These  con- 
siderations, aided  by  your  own  opinions  and  advice,  have 
put  to  rest  all  my  cares  about  the  affair,  and  I  am  now 
progressing  as  cheerfully  as  though  I  were  first. 

The  philosophical  indifference  to  his  disappointment 
which  the  young  cadet  assumed  in  writing  to  his  father 
was  far  from  real.  He  had  no  confidence  that  the  wrong 
would  be  righted.  He  felt  that  the  class  distinction 
which  he  had  fairly  won  had  been  unjustly  wrested  from 
him.  He  continued  to  work  steadily  and  resolutely,  but 
he  wras  deeply  mortified,  and  he  was  still  more  deeply 
indignant.  He  brooded  over  his  disaster  with  gloomy 
forebodings,  and  wondered  what  might  be  in  store  for 
him  in  a  world  in  which  a  venial  fault  may  cost  the 
coveted  reward  of  years  of  faithful  labor.  Sitting  mood- 
ily in  his  room  one  night,  he  cast  about  for  something 
to  distract  his  thoughts.  In  his  table  drawer  he  found  a 
tract ;  and  the  reading  of  that  tract  changed  the  whole 
course  of  his  after-life. 

It  was  just  about  a  year  since  a  new  chaplain,  who 
was  also  professor  of  ethics,  had  appeared  at  the  Acad- 
emy. He  was  a  new  chaplain  in  more  senses  than  one, 
for  never  before  had  officers  or  cadets  heard  such  ser- 
mons as  he  addressed  to  them.    Dr.  Charles  Pettit  Mcll- 


Mt  20]  CHAPLAIN  McILVAINE.  89 

vaine,  afterward  Bishop  of  Ohio,  was  then  at  the  zenith 
of  his  powers,  of  a  tall  and  majestic  person,  lofty  but 
gracious  in  bearing,  in  countenance  not  unlike  ideal- 
ized portraits  of  Washington.  His  voice  was  powerful 
and  penetrating,  but  melodious  j  his  gesture  perfect  and 
therefore  apparently  unstudied ;  his  manner  in  the  pulpit 
full  of  earnestness.  He  had  gone  to  West  Point  from 
Washington,  where  oratory  was  both  practiced  and  ap- 
preciated, and  it  was  not  in  vain  that  Dr.  Mcllvaine  had 
heard  such  orators  as  Webster  and  Hayne,  Burgess  and 
Calhoun.  General  Crafts  J.  Wright,  who  was  then  at  West 
Point,  thus  describes  the  impression  he  made  at  his  first 
appearance  as  the  chaplain  of  the  Academy:  "On  the 
first  Sunday  of  Dr.  Mcllvaine's  preaching  at  West  Point 
the  cadets  went  to  chapel,  as  usual,  some  with  books 
to  read,  and  others  hoping  to  sleep,  but  none  ex- 
pecting to  take  any  interest  in  the  sermon.  Had  a 
bugle  been  sounded  in  the  chapel  they  could  not  have 
been  more  astonished.  Books  were  dropped,  sleep  was 
forgotten,  attention  was  riveted.  There  was  general 
surprise  and  gratification.  From  that  day  on  the  chap- 
lain's influence  grew  more  and  more  powerful,  until  at 
length  the  whole  corps  was  roused  as  by  a  thunder-clap 
at  the  announcement  that  Leonidas  Polk  and  others  had 
been  '  converted,'  and  that  Polk  was  to  lead  a  '  praying 
squad '  in  the  prison,  which  was  the  only  unoccupied  and 
quiet  room  in  the  barracks.  I  and  many  others  stood 
on  the  stoop  to  see  them  go  by  and  find  out  who  they 
were.  Polk,  calm  and  fearless,  with  earnest  anxiety  in 
his  look,  headed  the  squad  of  *  converted '  men.  From 
day  to  day  the  number  increased,  and  finally  it  became 
so  large  that  they  were  obliged,  for  want  of  room,  to 
adjourn  to  the  chapel.  There  was  a  veritable  revolution 
in  the  barracks  and  the  corps  of  cadets." 


90  CONVERSION.  [1826 

The  story  of  these  remarkable  events  may  best  per- 
haps be  told  in  the  language  (somewhat  condensed)  of 
Bishop  Mcllvaine  himself. 

"When  I  began  duty  as  chaplain  and  professor  of 
ethics,  the  late  Bishop  Polk  was  a  cadet  in  his  third 
year.  I  had  no  knowledge  of  him  except  as  one  of  the 
congregation  to  whom  I  preached,  until  circumstances  of 
a  very  interesting  kind  brought  him  to  my  house. 

"The  condition  of  the  Academy  was  far  from  encour- 
aging. There  was  not  one  '  professor  of  religion '  among 
the  officers,  military  or  civil.  Several  of  them  were 
friendly  to  the  efforts  of  the  chaplain,  others  were  de- 
cidedly the  reverse.  Of  the  cadets  not  one  was  known 
to  make  any  profession  of  interest  in  religion.  Among 
cadets,  officers,  and  instructors  there  was  a  great  deal 
of  avowed  infidelity,  but  my  venerable  and  beloved 
friend,  Colonel  Sylvanus  Thayer,  then  commanding  offi- 
cer, though  not  a  communicant  of  any  church,  must  be 
understood,  with  others  of  the  officers,  to  be  untouched 
by  these  remarks. 

"  I  had  been  laboring  for  nearly  a  year  without  the 
slightest  encouragement.  Not  a  cadet  had  called  to  see 
me.  I  knew  them  only  as  I  met  them  in  my  class  or 
saw  them  as  a  congregation.  They  seemed  to  feel  that 
it  would  be  regarded  as  a  profession  of  interest  in  re- 
ligion to  come  to  me.  One  of  them,  whose  father  had 
requested  him  to  become  acquainted  with  me,  was  afraid 
(as  he  afterward  told  me)  to  do  so  until  after  his  father's 
death.  In  the  deepest  of  my  discouragement,  when  I 
had  just  concluded  a  series  of  discourses  on  the  evi- 
dences of  Christianity  without  any  known  effect,  this 
cadet  came  to  my  study.  He  introduced  himself  by 
saying  that  his  father  had  recently  died,  and  he  was 
ashamed  to  say  that  a  foolish  fear  had  kept  him  from 


Mt.  20]    A   BOW  DRAWN  AT  A    VENTURE.  91 

coming  to  see  me.  Before  he  left  me  I  put  a  tract  into 
his  hand.  '  This/  I  said,  '  is  for  you.'  It  was  addressed 
to  a  person  in  affliction.  Another  was  addressed  to  an 
unbeliever.  '  Take  this/  I  said,  and  '  drop  it  somewhere 
in  the  barracks ;  perhaps  I  shall  hear  of  it  again.'  He 
smiled,  and  said  he  would  do  as  I  asked.  A  week  passed, 
and  I  had  forgotten  the  tract,  but  the  following  Satur- 
day afternoon  came  another  cadet.  As  I  took  his  hand, 
he  said,  '  My  name  is  Polk/  and  could  say  no  more.  I 
led  him  to  a  chair.  He  was  still  silent,  as  if  he  feared 
to  speak  lest  he  should  not  control  his  feelings.  Suppos- 
ing he  had  got  into  trouble  with  the  authorities  of  the 
institution,  I  asked  him  to  trust  me  as  a  friend  and  tell 
me  his  burden.  Then  he  burst  into  the  most  feeling 
and  intense  expression  of  a  mind  convinced  of  sin,  and 
earnestly  begged  to  be  told  what  he  must  do  for  salva- 
tion. He  had  conversed  with  nobody.  There  was  no 
man  there  but  his  minister  who  could  have  compre- 
hended his  state  of  mind.  I  asked  him  how  it  came. 
He  answered,  'I  picked  up  a  tract  in  my  room;  who 
put  it  there  I  do  not  know.'  It  was  the  tract  I  had  sent 
at  a  venture.  Then  he  said  that  the  discourses  on  the 
evidences  had  made  a  certain  impression  on  his  mind, 
which  had  been  in  a  degree  skeptical;  then,  having 
heard  I  had  caused  a  number  of  copies  of  Dr.  Olynthus 
Gregory's  '  Letters  on  the  Evidences '  to  be  brought  to 
West  Point  and  deposited  with  the  quartermaster,  he 
had  obtained  a  copy.  That  book  had  strengthened  his 
impressions,  but  he  was  not  aware  to  what  extent  the 
truth  had  taken  hold  of  him  till  he  had  read  the  tract. 
His  docility  and  humbleness  of  spirit  were  very  striking. 
"  After  I  had  given  him  instruction  and  prayed  with 
him,  he  became  tranquil  and  began  to  speak  of  his  cir- 
cumstances.    His  would  be  the  first  known  instance  in 


92  A   REVOLUTION  AT   WEST  POINT.        [1826 

the  history  of  the  Academy  of  a  cadet  having  come  out 
and  taken  position  as  a  follower  of  Christ.  He  consid- 
ered how  he  would  be  wondered  at  and  observed,  and  by 
some  ridiculed ;  he  deeply  felt  the  need  of  the  greatest 
circumspection  and  of  strength  from  above,  lest  he  should 
not  walk  consistently  with  the  new  life  on  which  he  now 
sought  to  enter.  Next  morning  he  would  attend  divine 
worship  as  he  had  never  attended  before.  It  would  get 
abroad  in  the  corps  that  this  great  change  had  come 
over  his  mind.  He  would  be  watched  in  the  chapel.  He 
reflected  that  no  cadet  had  ever  knelt  in  the  service,  and, 
so  far  as  was  remembered,  no  officer,  professor,  or  in- 
structor. The  chapel  was  then  so  small  that  the  cadets 
sat  on  benches  without  backs,  and  were  so  crowded  to- 
gether that  it  was  difficult  for  any  one  to  kneel.  He 
asked  me  what  he  ought  to  do,  not  having  the  slightest 
idea  of  shrinking  from  a  duty,  and  yet  modest  and  not 
wishing  to  make  himself  unnecessarily  an  object  of 
observation.  I  said  he  had  better  begin  at  once.  The 
next  day,  when  the  confession  in  the  service  came,  I 
could  hear  his  movement  to  get  space  to  kneel,  and  then 
his  deep  tone  of  response,  as  if  he  were  trembling  with 
new  emotion ;  and  then  it  seemed  as  if  an  impression  of 
solemnity  pervaded  the  congregation.  It  was  a  new 
sight,  that  single  kneeling  cadet.  Such  a  thing  had  not 
been  supposed  to  be  possible. 

"  It  pleased  God  that  this,  though  the  first,  was  not 
the  only  instance.  Cadets  and  officers  afterward  told 
me  that  if  I  had  chosen  one  man  out  of  the  whole  corps, 
whose  example  would  have  the  greatest  effect  on  the 
minds  of  his  comrades,  I  should  have  chosen  him.  In 
the  course  of  a  week,  one  and  another,  strangers  to  me, 
came  on  the  same  errand,  each  without  previous  com- 
munication with  any  one  until  he  went  to  Cadet  Polk 


ML  20]  BAPTISM  OF   CADETS.  03 

and  asked  to  be  introduced  to  me.  I  found  it  necessary 
to  have  meetings  for  them  twice  or  thrice  a  week  in  my 
house  for  instruction  and  prayer.  Soon  the  number  of 
cadets,  with  some  professors  and  instructors,  was  so  great 
as  wholly  to  occupy  the  largest  room  I  had,  and  in  the 
case  of  almost  every  cadet  who  came  his  chosen  intro- 
ducer was  Leonidas  Polk,  the  first-born  of  these  many 
brethren. 

u  Forty  days  after  his  first  interview  with  me,  Cadet 
Polk  was  baptized  in  the  chapel,  in  the  presence  of  the 
corps  and  an  unusually  large  attendance  of  officers  and 
professors.  Another  cadet,  W.  B.  Magruder,  who  still 
lives,  was  baptized  at  the  same  time.  The  service  of 
adult  baptism  had  never  been  witnessed  there  before, 
and  the  circumstances  made  it  an  occasion  of  intense 
interest.  At  its  conclusion  I  addressed  a  few  words  of 
exhortation  to  the  two  young  men,  ending  with  the  sen- 
tence, f  Pray  your  Master  and  Saviour  to  take  you  out 
of  the  world  rather  than  allow  you  to  bring  reproach  on 
the  cause  you  have  now  professed/  Then  there  came 
out  of  the  depths  of  Polk's  heart  an  '  Amen '  which  spoke 
to  every  other  heart  in  the  congregation.  It  is  only 
lately  that  I  received  a  letter  from  a  gentleman,  a  stran- 
ger to  me.  When  he  had  heard  of  the  death  of  Bishop 
Polk,  he  remembered  spending  a  Sunday  at  West  Point 
in  the  beginning  of  1826  and  attending  a  service  in  the 
chapel  when  I  baptized  two  cadets.  He  recollected  the 
very  words  of  the  close  of  my  address,  and  said  that  one 
of  the  cadets,  whose  name  was  Polk,  had  responded  with 
a  deep-toned  'Amen'  which  still  sounded  in  his  ears." 

Shortly  after  his  baptism  Cadet  Polk  was  appointed 
orderly  sergeant  on  an  occasion  and  with  a  purpose 
which  showed  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  his 
superiors.    The  members  of  the  oldest  class  had  been  in 


94  CONSCIENTIOUS  OBDERLIES.  [1826 

the  habit  of  lying  in  bed  at  early  roll-call,  and  had  come 
to  assert  some  sort  of  traditional  right  to  be  reported  as 
present.  The  authorities  endeavored  to  correct  this 
breach  of  discipline,  but  had  found  that  it  could  not  be 
broken  up  without  the  assistance  of  orderlies  who  could 
not  be  induced  to  swerve  from  the  line  of  duty  even  by 
the  public  opinion  of  the  whole  corps  of  cadets.  Such 
men,  it  was  believed,  were  now  to  be  found  among  the 
chaplain's  converts.  Two  were  chosen,  and  one  of  them 
was  Polk.  The  chaplain  heard  of  it,  and,  being  desirous 
of  having  an  explicit  acknowledgment  of  the  reason  of 
the  appointment,  he  took  his  stand  one  day  beside  his 
friend,  Colonel  Thayer,  when  the  companies  were  march- 
ing out  to  the  evening  parade.  As  they  approached,  the 
chaplain  said,  "  Colonel,  why  have  you  selected  those  two 
cadets  for  orderly  sergeants?  As  for  Polk,  I  do  not 
wonder;  he's  a  fine-looking  fellow  and  marches  well; 
but  the  other  is  a  mere  slouch."  "The  truth  is,"  an- 
swered the  colonel,  "  we  had  to  take  them.  I  thought 
these  two  young  men  could  be  relied  upon  to  do  their 
duty  at  all  hazards."  His  judgment  was  justified  by  the 
event.  The  new  orderlies  were  cajoled  and  threatened ; 
and  at  last  the  alternative  was  plainly  put  to  them,  that 
they  must  either  resign  or  allow  the  traditionary  practice 
to  go  on.  They  quietly  answered  that  neither  coarse 
would  be  right,  and  that  they  meant  to  do  their  duty. 
They  did  it  accordingly,  and  after  a  while  they  had  no 
difficulty. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  the  young  convert  felt 
it  to  be  his  duty  to  communicate  to  his  father  an  account 
of  the  change  which  had  occurred  in  the  motives  and 
ambitions  of  his  life.  After  stating  as  clearly  as  he 
could  the  reasons  which  had  convinced  him  of  the  truth 
of  the  Christian  religion,  he  proceeded  to  tell  of  the  se 


Mt.  20]  TAKING   UP  THE   CEOSS.  95 

vere  struggle  which  it  had  cost  him  to  take  up  his  cross 
by  placing  himself  under  the  direction  of  his  chaplain, 
Dr.  Mcllvaine,  and  of  the  peace  which  he  had  enjoyed 
after  taking  that  step.  It  is  significant  to  find  that  his 
warmth  of  religious  fervor  was  accompanied  by  an  equal 
warmth  of  family  affection,  which  led  him  at  the  same 
time  to  urge  that  he  might  be  permitted  to  take  a  fur- 
lough and  return  home.  Of  his  visit  to  Mr.  Mcllvaine 
he  said : 

This  step  was  my  most  trying  one.  To  bring  myself  to 
renounce  all  of  my  former  habits  and  associations )  to  step 
forth  singly  from  among  the  whole  corps,  acknowledging  my 
convictions  of  the  truth  of  the  holy  religion  which  I  had  be- 
fore derided  and  was  now  anxious  to  embrace ;  and  to  be  put 
up,  as  it  were,  as  a  mark  for  the  observations  of  others, — 
were  trials  which,  unaided  by  the  consolations  of  the  Bible, 
humble  and  fervent  prayer,  and  above  all  by  the  strong  hand 
of  Him  who  is  all-powerful  to  shield  and  protect  all  such  as 
do  earnestly  desire  to  make  their  peace  with  Him,  I  should 
have  sunk  under  and  again  fallen  back  upon  the  world.  By 
the  especial  favor  of  Divine  Providence,  however,  I  was  so 
strengthened  as  to  continue  my  efforts,  heedless  of  all  oppo- 
sition, and  can  now  freely  say  that  rather  than  relinquish  the 
prospect  before  me,  or  yield  aught  of  that  hope  which  cheers 
me  in  every  duty,  I  would  suffer  such  torture  for  centuries, 
though  it  were  increased  a  thousandfold,  since  I  have  found 
my  mind  at  ease,  and  fortified  against  the  opinions  of  the 
world.  I  do  not  find  the  duties  of  religion  of  that  gloomy, 
insipid,  and  austere  character  that  those  of  the  world  con- 
ceive they  possess  j  so  far  from  it,  that  I  am  clearly  convinced 
that  the  most  happy  man  on  earth  is  he  who  practices  most 
faithfully  the  duties  of  Christianity.  Since  I  have  entered  on 
my  new,  and  I  earnestly  hope  permanent,  course  of  life,  six 
others  of  the  corps  have  successively  come  forward  after 
the  same  manner,  and  we  hope  for  a  further  increase.  The 
colonel  is  very  well  disposed  toward  religion,  and  has  kindly 


96  NIGHTLY  MEETINGS  FOB   WORSHIP.     [1826 

granted  us  permission  to  attend,  with  some  of  the  professors 
and  others,  at  Mr.  Mcllvaine's  nightly  meetings  for  purposes 
of  worship.  We  are  now  more  settled,  and  are  progressing  as 
well  as  attendant  circumstances  will  permit. 

These  alterations  have,  as  you  may  well  conceive,  caused 
others  in  my  plans  for  the  ensuing  encampment.  I  wrote 
you  some  time  since  the  reasons  inducing  me  to  remain  on 
the  Point  until  I  should  graduate  without  obtaining  a  fur- 
lough. Your  own  request  was  one  and  the  chief  ;  and  this  I 
hope  you  will,  at  my  earnest  solicitation,  now  withdraw,  as  I 
would  be  extremely  glad  to  visit  you  and  the  family  on  the 
coming  vacation.  I  have  spoken  to  Colonel  Thayer  about  it, 
and  am  induced  to  believe  from  Avhat  he  told  me,  that  he 
would  not  press  the  objection  stated  by  him  some  time  since 
as  to  artillery  practice.  He  has  laid  it  down  as  a  rule  not  to 
give  a  definite  answer  to  such  applications  until  after  the 
time  specified  in  the  Regulations  for  making  them  (viz. ,  the 
1st  of  June),  but  told  me  I  might  make  my  application.  It 
is  necessary  to  have  the  consent  of  our  parents  to  accompany 
the  application.  I  would  be  obliged  to  you,  therefore,  if  you 
would  write  to  Colonel  Thayer  yourself,  and  request  him  to 
grant  the  permission  I  want.  I  have  postponed  writing  you 
so  long  that  my  letter  and  your  answer  will  hardly  have 
time  to  be  exchanged  before  the  time  for  application  shall 
have  arrived.  Will  you  please,  at  the  same  time,  send 
me  the  necessary  funds.  I  have  some  debts,  not  of  large 
amount,  that  I  should  like  to  discharge.  I  need  not,  my  dear 
father,  add  anything  as  to  when,  where,  and  how  often  I 
remember  you,  my  dear  mother,  brothers,  sisters,  friends 
and  all. 

Your  truly  affectionate  son, 

Leonidas. 

Colonel  Polk  was  not  himself  a  religious  man,  and  he 
was  troubled  at  the  intelligence  of  his  son's  conversion, 
fearing  that  he  might  have  been  carried  away  by  a 
momentary  enthusiasm.  His  fears  were,  of  course,  ex- 
pressed in  his  reply  to  the  letter  which  he  had  received 


JEt.  20]  COLONEL  POLK'S  FEARS.  97 

from  Leonidas,  and  he  was  doubtless  somewhat  reassured 
by  the  following  letter : 

West  Point,  June  5, 1826. 
My  dear  Father:  I  have  received  your  letter  in  answer  to 
my  last,  with  feelings,  as  you  may  well  suppose,  of  deep  re- 
gret, seeing  from  it  that  I  had  been  the  cause  of  uneasiness 
to  the  family.  I  can  now  realize  more  clearly  the  feelings 
with  which  it  impressed  you  when  read.  I  am  truly  sorry 
that  I  should  have  been  unable  to  repress  the  expression  of 
my  own,  when  under  such  excitement.  At  the  time  I  wrote, 
my  mind  was  in  a  state  of  great  distraction.  This  of  itself 
disqualified  me  for  writing  with  coolness,  or  dispassionately. 
But  when  to  this  is  added  the  natural  warmth,  and,  I  hope, 
tenderness,  of  my  affections  toward  my  parents,  and  the  solici- 
tude I  had  for  them,  as  also  for  the  rest  of  my  relatives  and 
friends,  I  trust,  my  dear  father,  you  will  make  every  allow- 
ance for  the  overflowing  of  a  heart  thus  filled  with  emotions 
of  the  liveliest  regard.  To  be  now  the  source  of  pain  to  any 
individual  would  to  me  be  exceedingly  painful  j  and  doubly 
painful  would  it  be  to  offend,  in  the  least,  those  to  whom  I 
am  by  so  many  ties  most  endearingly  bound.  I  have  seized 
this,  the  first  opportunity  since  the  receipt  of  yours  in  which 
I  thought  I  could  say  to  you  those  things  which  I  felt  as  I 
wished.  They  have  weighed,  I  cannot  refrain  from  repeat- 
ing, heavily  on  me  and  often  since  your  letter  reached  me; 
but  I  sincerely  trust  that  whatever  cares  my  former  letter 
may  have  created  may  by  this  time  be  removed,  and  I  shall, 
as  soon  as  I  can  have  arranged  my  affairs  after  the  examina- 
tions, set  off,  by  God's  permission,  for  home  and  the  bosom 
of  my  family,  which  having  reached,  it  is  my  hope  that  I 
shall  be  enabled  to  institute,  instead  of  care,  consolation. 
The  check  on  the  Mechanics'  Bank  was  enclosed,  and,  with 
what  I  shall  be  entitled  to  for  the  time  in  which  I  shall  be  ab- 
sent, will  be  amply  sufficient,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  to  pay 
my  debts  and  expenses  home.  I  have  spoken  to  the  colonel 
as  to  my  furlough,  which  he  has  kindly  granted,  acknowledg- 
ing at  the  same  time  the  receipt  of  your  letter.     He  says  I 


98  AT  HOME   ON  FURLOUGH.  [182G 

can  leave  here  about  the  20th  inst.    I  shall  then  probably 
reach  home  about  the  1st  of  July  or  sooner. 

Our  examination  commenced  on  to-day,  under  the  inspec- 
tion of  a  large  number  of  the  Board  of  Visitors.  I  expect  to 
be  taken  up  in  the  course  of  the  two  following  weeks  in  both 
branches  of  my  course,  and  shall  pass,  I  hope,  at  least  a  cred- 
itable examination. 

The  furlough  spent  at  home  in  1826  was  a  time  of 
very  great  happiness  both  to  Leonidas  and  to  his  father. 
It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  Colonel  Polk  should 
sympathize  with  his  son's  feelings,  but  it  was  not  pos- 
sible either  to  doubt  his  sincerity  or  not  to  respect  the 
strength  of  his  convictions  and  the  modest  firmness  of 
his  resolution.  In  due  time  Leonidas  returned  to  West 
Point,  and  engaged  with  greater  industry  perhaps  than 
ever  in  the  prosecution  of  his  studies.  In  a  letter  writ- 
ten during  the  following  winter  he  laments  the  difficulty 
of  pursuing  the  higher  branches,  even  of  a  military  edu- 
cation, as  far  as  he  would  like,  and  expresses  particular 
regret  that  literature  should  be  almost  entirely  neglected. 
"  For  the  interests  of  the  Academy  and  the  country,"  lie 
says,  "it  is  greatly  to  be  desired  that  the  Board  of  Vis- 
itors would  add  to  the  course  another  year,  in  which 
polite  learning  should  at  least  be  taught,  if  not  exclu- 
sively. For  my  owm  part,  I  would  more  readily  spend 
my  fifth  year  in  a  course  of  reading  than  in  doing  the 
duties  of  a  lieutenant."  A  little  later  he  urges  this  point 
somewhat  more  explicitly.  He  says:  "My  classical 
education  is  imperfect.  My  knowledge  of  history,  and 
indeed  of  most  books  aside  from  my  text-books,  is 
exceedingly  limited;  and  I  feel  great  unwillingness  to 
close  my  eyes  to  all  this  life  while  only  an  effort  is  want- 
ing to  its  enjoyment."  He  therefore  asks  his  father's 
permission  to  accept  the  professorship  of  the  mathe 


,£t.  20]         OFFERED  A   PROFESSORSHIP.  99 

matical  and  physical  sciences  in  a  new  institution  which 
was  about  to  be  founded  in  Massachusetts,  and  which 
has  since  become  famous  as  Amherst  College.  This 
position  had  been  tendered  to  him  unsought,  at  the  in- 
stance and  by  the  recommendation  of  Colonel  Thayer, 
who  had  now  become  his  fast  friend.  The  salary  offered 
was  moderate,  but  sufficient  in  those  times  for  his  com- 
fortable support.1  The  duties  of  the  professorship,  he 
said,  would  occupy  only  about  three  hours  a  day,  and 
would  leave  him  ample  time  to  prosecute  his  own  studies 
with  the  assistance  of  his  colleagues  of  the  faculty.  He 
urged  in  favor  of  the  acceptance  of  this  position  that  it 
would  enable  him  to  be  of  special  service  to  his  brothers 
Rufus  and  Washington,  who  might  be  with  him  at  Am- 
herst, and  over  whom  he  could  have  a  brotherly  over- 
sight. He  said  he  had  considered  the  obligation  resting 
upon  him  to  remain  for  a  year  in  the  army  after  his 
graduation,  and  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was 
bound  by  it  only  in  case  the  government  declined  to 
release  him.  "  The  engagement  was,"  he  said,  "  that  I 
should  consider  myself  its  servant  for  a  term  of  five 
years,  unless  it  sooner  discharged  me.  If,  therefore,  I 
knew  or  supposed  it  to  be  ready  to  grant  such  discharge, 
there  could  certainly  be  nothing  wrong  in  making  the 
application.  I  have  consulted  the  superintendent  con- 
cerning it.  He  thinks  my  views  are  correct,  and  that  no 
obligation  rests  on  me  to  abstain  from  applying  for  a 
discharge  should  I  desire  one." 

For  various  reasons  Colonel  Polk  was  not  inclined  to 
sanction  the  adoption  of  the  course  proposed,  and  Leon- 
idas  unhesitatingly  relinquished  it ;  but  in  so  doing  he 
announced  his  intention  to  enter  the  ministry  of  the 

i  Eight  hundred  dollars  exclusive  of  all  charges  for  board,  room, 
servant,  etc. 


100  CHOOSES  THE  MINISTRY.  [182C 

Church,  and  begged  that  he  might  have  the  approbation 
of  his  parents  in  adopting  that  profession.     He  said : 

With  you  I  concur  in  the  opinion  that  it  is  the  part  of 
wisdom  in  a  young  man  just  entering  into  life  not  to  post 
pone  to  a  protracted  period  the  choice  of  that  profession  01 
settled  plan  of  life  to  which  he  means  to  devote  himself. 
Certainly  no  step  is  more  important,  or  of  more  commanding 
influence  over  one's  future  happiness,  and  therefore  none 
requires  a  more  calm  consideration.  I  have  long  time  and 
often  had  the  subject  before  me,  and,  divesting  myself  of  every 
bias,  have  repeatedly  surveyed  the  whole  field  of  human 
avocation  to  find  out  that  course  through  which  interest  and 
inclination  should  direct  me  to  proceed,  and  I  am  happy  in 
being  able  clearly  to  pronounce  my  search  has  not  been  fruit- 
less, as  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  the  ministry  is  the  profes- 
sion to  which  I  should  devote  myself.  It  has  occurred  to  you, 
doubtless,  that  I  would  probably  look  to  this,  either  of  my 
own  accord  or  at  the  instance  of  others.  And  lest  an  impres- 
sion should  be  made  upon  you  that  I  have  followed  the  coun- 
sels of  others  rather  than  exercised  my  own  judgment,  I 
will  here  remark  that  it  has  been  my  studious  effort  to  with- 
draw myself  from  everything  of  that  character,  in  order  that, 
whatever  my  conclusions  might  be,  they  should  be  entirely  the 
result  of  my  own  labors.  And  especially  have  I  desired  this, 
as  the  ministry  was  one  of  the  professions  under  considera- 
tion ;  for  of  all  others  this  is  that  on  which  we  should  enter 
urged  alone  by  our  own  unaided  inclination.  This,  therefore, 
is  the  one  of  my  choice.  I  feel  that  in  the  exercise  of  its 
functions  I  should  find  my  greatest  happiness,  and  this  is  the 
ground  of  the  selection. 

That  it  may  meet  the  approbation  of  yourself  and  mother, 
is  the  earnest  prayer  of 

Your  truly  affectionate  son, 

Leonidas  Polk. 

This  announcement  was  a  serious  disappointment  to 
Colonel  Polk,  who  had  hoped  that  Leonidas  might  con- 


ML  21]       LAST  YEARS  AT   WEST  POINT.  ioi 

tinue  the  military  traditions  of  the  family,  and  perhaps 
achieve  distinction  as  a  soldier.  His  chief  fear,  however, 
seems  to  have  been  that  the  lad  might  be  carried  away 
by  the  enthusiasm  of  youth  into  a  profession  to  which 
he  was  unsuited,  and  he  wisely  urged  that  a  final  deci- 
sion should  be  postponed  until  after  Leonidas  should 
have  graduated  and  should  have  spent  some  time  in 
travel.  To  this  his  son  dutifully  agreed.  "  In  reference 
to  my  determination  as  to  an  occupation  for  life,"  he 
wrote,  "I  can  only  repeat  that  it  has  not  been  the  work 
of  a  moment,  but  of  leisurely  consideration.  I  will  for- 
bear, however,  from  further  mentioning  it  until  I  have 
complied  with  your  wishes." 

During  the  remainder  of  his  term  at  West  Point 
young  Polk  was  in  charge  of  the  class  of  cadets  which 
had  just  been  entered  at  the  Academy ;  and  it  was  the 
desire  of  Colonel  Thayer  and  of  the  instructor  in  tactics 
that  he  should  remain  with  the  corps,  after  his  gradua- 
tion, in  the  capacity  of  quartermaster.  His  final  exam- 
inations were  passed  with  credit,  and,  notwithstanding 
the  misfortune  of  the  previous  year,  his  name  appeared 
eighth  in  the  merit  roll,  which  entitled  him  to  expect  a 
commission  in  the  artillery.  On  July  4,  1827,  he  was 
graduated.  In  August,  by  his  father's  desire,  and  for 
the  improvement  of  his  health,  which  for  some  time  had 
been  impaired  by  hard  study  and  by  an  acquired  delicacy 
of  constitution,  he  entered  on  a  course  of  travel  in 
New  England,  Canada,  New  York,  and  Pennsylvania, 
arriving  in  Tennessee  in  the  beginning  of  October.  His 
observations  of  men  and  things  during  this  journey 
were  communicated  to  his  father  in  a  series  of  interest- 
ing letters,  in  one  of  which  he  describes  a  railroad  which 
he  saw  in  Massachusetts.  His  description  of  it  is  as 
follows : 


102  'AN'  EARLY  RAILROAD.  [1827 

Quebec,  L.  C,  August  22, 1827. 
My  dear  Father:  As  I  anticipated,  I  left  Montreal  on  the 
day  before  yesterday,  and  reached  this  place  on  last  evening. 
Among  other  things  of  interest  in  Boston  and  its  vicinity,  I 
saw  a  railroad.  The  object  for  which  it  was  first  projected 
was  to  bring  from  a  bed  of  granite  near  Quincy,  about  nine 
miles  from  Boston,  stone  to  build  the  Bunker  Hill  monument. 
Its  whole  extent  is  about  3£  miles,  from  the  bed  to  a  canal 
leading  to  the  sea.  The  inclination  of  the  rails  is  about  one 
in  20  inches,  which  enables  a  horse  to  draw  an  almost  incred- 
ible weight  with  much  ease.  The  construction  is  simple.  It 
is  the  object  first  to  get  the  uniform  inclination,  which  is  done 
in  the  ordinary  way,  of  cutting  down  hills  and  filling  valleys, 
either  with  the  excavated  earth  or  bridges  of  stone  or  wood. 
This  done,  pieces  of  stone  about  18  inches  square  and  7  feet 
long  are  laid  lengthwise  across  the  road  at  intervals  of  nearly 
6  feet  j  these  are  embedded  or  not  as  occasion  requires. 
Resting  on  these  are  laid  timbers  of  about  a  foot  square,  for 
the  wheels  to  run  on.  These  last  of  common  pine.  Oak 
strips  are  laid  on  these,  and  on  the  strips  bars  of  iron  are 
fastened,  to  secure  the  whole,  and  form  a  smooth  surface  for 
the  wheels.  The  wagons  are  of  stout  make,  with  all  the 
wheels  of  the  same  size,  so  that  in  going  down  they  hitch 
on  at  one  end,  and  shift  to  the  other  when  returning.  The 
stone  is  either  carried  on  the  body  of  the  wagon  or  suspended 
beneath,  as  occasion  requires.  To  prevent  the  wheels  from 
slipping  off,  pieces  of  flat  iron  are  nailed  on  the  inside  of  the 
fellies  and  project  beyond  the  tire  about  an  inch,  (a)  is  a 
section  of  the  rim  of  the  wheel,  that  is,  of  the  felly,  tire  and 
inside  band,  and  (b)  of  that  on  which 
it  runs,  or  of  the  pine  timber,  oak  strip,  r 

and  iron  bar.  The  work  has  cost  an 
immense  deal  of  money,  owing  to  want 
of  skill  on  the  part  of  its  projectors 


and  those  employed  in  the  execution.    It  will,  it 
is  thought,  though,  in  the  course  of  time  pay  for  itself  and  be- 
come profitable  stock,  as  the  article  which  passes  over  it  has 
become  popular  as  a  building  material. 


jEt.21]     THE  ADAMS  HOUSE  AT  QUINCY.  103 

While  at  Boston  he  visited  the  residence  of  the  late 
President  Adams  at  Quincy,  which  was  then  occupied 
by  the  family  of  Judge  Thomas  Adams. 

I  rode  out  to  Quincy,  the  residence  of  the  late  President 
Adams.  It  is  about  nine  miles  from  Boston  toward  Provi- 
dence. The  village  of  Quincy  is  about  the  size  of  Louisburg 
in  Franklin,  Ct.,  though  more  open  in  its  suburbs,  and  neat 
in  its  construction.  About  a  mile  from  its  center  is  the  house 
of  Mr.  Adams.  I  had  pictured  to  myself  a  fine  country-seat, 
occupying  an  eminence,  surrounded  with  groves,  orchards,  and 
woodland,  with  all  the  appurtenances  of  such  a  place,  as  the 
probable  residence  I  was  to  see,  but  found  a  plain,  oblong, 
two-story,  white  house,  with  dormer  windows,  near  the  road, 
surrounded  with  fine  shade-trees  and  fields  for  three  quarters 
of  a  mile,  at  least.  It  is  plain  and  comfortable,  though  nothing 
fine.  The  occupants  are  the  family  of  Judge  Thomas  Adams, 
a  son  of  the  late  President.  He  was  very  polite,  and  his  lady 
particularly  so.  The  house  was  shown  us,  with  a  great  variety 
of  paintings  and  busts,  part  of  those  owned  by  the  President. 
The  tomb  of  the  family  —  or  vault,  rather  —  is  in  the  town 
graveyard,  near  at  hand,  and  contains  his  remains.  It  is 
simple.  A  mound  of  earth,  with  a  door  of  slate-stone  at  one 
end,  fastened  with  a  common  padlock,  constitutes  the  whole. 

At  Albany  Mr.  Polk  paid  his  respects  to  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  whose  son  had  been  one  of  his  classmates,  and 
from  whom  he  had  a  letter  of  introduction  to  his  father. 
Of  this  visit  he  said :  "  The  first  day  I  was  in  Albany  he 
had  company,  Mr.  Ritchie,  the  editor,  and  his  family,  and 
others  from  Virginia  dining  with  him  —  I  called  in  the 
afternoon — and  as  I  was  desirous  of  getting  on  to  the 
Lakes  and  Canada,,  I  did  not  remain  another  day.  I 
shall  likely  meet  him  again  on  his  western  tour  in 
Rochester." 

In  Tennessee  he  visited  his  friends  and  relatives,  and 
dined  with  General  Jackson.     In  writing  to  his  father 


104  RESIGNS  HIS  COMMISSION.  [1827 

he  says :  "  I  dined  with  a  party  of  ladies  and  gentlemen 
at  General  Jackson's  abont  ten  days  since,  and  fonnd 
the  old  general  and  his  lady  both  as  courteous  as  I  could 
have  wished.  He  entertains  as  easily  as  he  well  could, 
though  he  seems  to  be  immersed  in  business." 

He  was  now  bent  upon  resigning  his  commission,  and 
was  desirous  to  do  so  before  his  furlough  should  expire. 
He  therefore  wrote  to  his  father  asking  his  approval  of 
that  step.     He  said : 

My  intention  at  the  time  of  setting  out  on  the  tour  I  have 
taken  was  to  have  completed  it,  spent  some  time  with  brothers 
Lncius,  William,  and  Thomas  each,  and  reached  home  two 
or  three  weeks  before  the  25th  of  October,  at  which  time  my 
furlough  expires.  This  I  wished  to  do  to  comply  with  a  wish 
expressed  by  Ma,  that  I  should  see  you  before  I  resigned  my 
commission,  and  my  object  was,  should  it  meet  your  appro- 
bation, to  resign  before  my  furlough  expired. 

In  pursuance  of  this  intention,  I  made  due  haste  from  the 
outset,  not  delaying  anywhere  longer  than  I  could  see  all 
that  was  worthy  of  observation,  and  at  times  declining  civili- 
ties which,  under  other  circumstances,  I  should  have  been 
glad  to  have  received.  I  did  not  perceive,  until  I  got  into 
Pennsylvania,  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  meet 
my  object,  or,  if  I  did,  I  should  have  to  make  very  short 
stays  both  with  my  brothers  and  at  home,  and  as  I  appre- 
hended no  difficulty  in  obtaining  your  consent  to  my  resign- 
ing, I  thought  it  best  to  give  over  the  original  plan,  forward 
my  resignation  through  you,  and  take  my  time  in  getting 
home.  This,  I  hope,  will  meet  your  approbation.  My  resig- 
nation accompanies  this.  It  is  dated  Raleigh,  in  order  that 
I  may  receive  an  answer  at  that  place. 

With  his  father's  reluctant  consent,  but  without  his 
positive  approval,  Lieutenant  Polk's  resignation  was 
forwarded  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  by  whom  it  was 
accepted,  and  he  prepared  to  enter  upon  his  studies  for 
the  ministry. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY  AND  EUROPEAN  TRAVELS. 

1828  to  1832. 

Sacrifices  in  entering  the  ministry. —  Opposition  of  Colonel  Polk  to  his 
son's  leaving  the  army. — Filial  reverence. —  Engaged  to  Miss  Devereux. 
—  Enters  the  Seminary  at  Alexandria. — Meeting  of  General  Jacksor 
and  Colonel  Polk. —  Mission  work  around  Alexandria. — Visits  President 
Adams. — Meets  Henry  Clay. — Visit  to  the  Houses  of  Congress. — Visits 
James  K.  Polk. —  The  Colonization  Society.  —  Favors  deportation  of 
negroes  to  Africa. —  The  spoils  system. —  Letter  to  Dr.  Mcllvaine. — 
Ordained  deacon. —  Marriage  to  Miss  Devereux. —  Engages  in  the  cure 
of  the  Monumental  Church,  Richmond. — First  sermon. —  Illness  from 
overwork. —  Death  of  Hamilton  Polk. — Sympathetic  letter  to  Colonel 
Polk. — Resigns  position  at  Richmond. —  Ordained  priest. — Continued 
ill-health. —  Horseback  tour  in  Virginia. —  Sails  for  Europe. —  Reaches 
Paris. —  Traveling  in  France. —  A  Paris  mob. —  Leaves  Paris  for  Brus- 
sels.—  Passing  the  custom-house  at  the  Dutch  lines. —  A  sprig  of 
royalty.— Fellenberg's  school  at  Hofroyl.— Through  Switzerland  and 
across  the  Alps  into  Italy. —  Rome. —  Custom-house  experience  in 
Naples. —  A  fashionable  statue  of  Washington.— A  royal  dairyman. — 
Nice. —  Preaches  to  sailors  at  Leghorn. —  Return  to  Paris. — A  plague- 
stricken  city.  — An  attack  of  cholera. —  Arrival  in  England. —  From 
London  to  Cambridge.  —  King's  Chapel,  Cambridge. — Epping  Forest 
and  its  annual  stag-hunt. —  Cockney  sportsmen.  —  Opinion  on  negro 
slavery.  —  Oxford.  —  English  breakfasts.  —  English  reverence.  —  New 
College  Chapel. —  Thoughts  on  a  cathedral  service. —  The  Liverpool  and 
Manchester  Railway. 

From  the  time  when  Leonidas  Polk  had  deliberately 
arrived  at  a  conviction  that  it  was  his  duty  to  enter  the 
ministry  of  the  Church,  his  purpose  to  take  that  step 
remained  unshaken ;  but  it  must  not  be  supposed  that 
the  step  he  was  about  to  take  involved  no  sacrifice.     He 

105 


106      ENGAGEMENT  TO  MISS  BEVEEEUX.       [1828 

was  just  of  age,  tall,  commanding  in  appearance,  and 
after  his  successful  career  at  the  Academy  there  lay  be- 
fore him  every  prospect  of  distinction  in  an  honorable 
profession  for  which  he  was  thoroughly  prepared  and  in 
which  he  might  hope  to  continue  the  military  traditions 
of  his  family.  His  father,  Colonel  Polk,  for  whom  Leon- 
idas  entertained  an  unbounded  reverence  and  admira- 
tion, strongly  opposed  his  leaving  the  army,  and  in  giv- 
ing his  final  consent  he  did  not  conceal  the  reluctance 
with  which  he  yielded  to  the  wishes  of  his  son.  The 
filial  reverence  which  Leonidas  felt  for  his  father  was 
fully  reciprocated  in  the  feeling  of  profound  respect 
which  his  father  entertained  for  him.  Consequently 
there  was  no  unhappiness  between  them ;  but,  although 
Leonidas  knew  that  he  did  not  lie  under  his  father's  dis- 
pleasure, it  caused  him  deep  grief  to  know  that  his  leav- 
ing the  army  to  enter  the  Church  was  a  bitter  disappoint- 
ment to  both  his  parents.  Moreover,  when  still  a  child, 
he  had  fallen  in  love  with  one  of  his  little  playmates, 
Frances  Devereux,  of  Raleigh,  whom  he  had  met  again 
as  an  accomplished  woman,  and  to  whom  he  became 
formally  engaged  in  the  month  of  May,  1828.  In  after- 
years  Mrs.  Polk  wrote :  "I  love  to  recall  those  days  of 
the  summer  of  1828,  just  before  he  entered  the  seminary, 
when  he  read  with  me,  talked  with  me,  and  took  pains 
to  direct  my  mind,  which  had  for  a  while  been  entangled 
in  a  maze  of  perplexities  and  doubts."  It  was  his  earnest 
wish  that  their  marriage  should  take  place  at  once,  and 
this  desire  would  have  doubtless  been  gratified  if  he  had 
retained  his  commission  in  the  army.  But  none  of  these 
things  moved  him  from  the  course  to  which  he  felt  im- 
pelled by  an  imperative  sense  of  duty.  After  a  brief 
emancipation  from  the  rigid  discipline  and  constant 
labor  of  West  Point,  he  prepared  to  enter  on  a  new 


^t.  22]  ENTERS  THE  SEMINARY.  107 

course  of  confinement  in  the  studies  of  a  theological 
seminary.  He  did  indeed  make  an  effort  to  induce  Miss 
Devereux  to  marry  him  before  he  went  there ;  but  she 
saw  that  it  would  be  unwise,  and  he,  with  great  reluct- 
ance, yielded  to  her  judgment.  Once  more  leaving 
home,  he  began  his  studies  for  the  ministry  in  the  Semi- 
nary at  Alexandria,  November  4,  1828. 

An  amusing  story  of  the  suppressed  aversion  with 
which  Colonel  Polk  regarded  his  son's  change  of  profes- 
sion was  told  by  the  late  venerable  Colonel  E.  G.  W. 
Butler  in  a  letter  dated  July  8,  1882  : 

u  A  few  days  before  the  inauguration  of  Andrew  Jack- 
son," says  Colonel  Butler,  "  I,  his  godson  and  ward,  went 
to  Washington,  and,  on  entering  his  chamber  at  the  Na- 
tional Hotel,  I  was  introduced  to  his  old  friend,  Colonel 
William  Polk  of  North  Carolina.  Major  Donaldson,  pri- 
vate secretary  of  the  President-elect,  informed  me  that 
when  Jackson  and  Polk  met,  a  few  moments  before  I 
entered,  the  general  shook  the  colonel  cordially  by  the 
hand  and  remarked,  *  My  dear  old  friend,  how  glad  I  am 
to  see  you !  I  fancy  I  can  see  your  red  face  during  Tar- 
leton's  raid  upon  the  Waxhaw  settlement,  when  you  and 
I  were  running  down  the  lane,  closely  pursued  by  the 
British  cavalry ! ' 1  In  the  course  of  the  conversation 
Colonel  Polk  informed  me  that  he  had  come  to  Wash- 
ington to  dance  at  the  inaugural  ball  of  his  early  friend ; 
and  I,  recollecting  that  his  son  had  graduated  at  the 
Military  Academy,  inquired,  i  Colonel,  where  is  your  son 
Leonidas  stationed  ? '  '  Stationed  1 '  he  replied.  '  Why, 
by  thunder,  sir,  he's  over  there  in  Alexandria  at  the 
Seminary ! ' n 

The  period  of  Polk's  probation  as  a  candidate  for 
orders  passed  uneventfully  away  in  the  Seminary.     He 

l  See  Chapter  L,  page  32. 


108  STUDIES  AT  ALEXANDRIA.  [1828 

made  no  attempt  to  make  up  for  the  disadvantage  of  his 
lack  of  a  classical  education  .by  a  serious  study  of  the 
ancient  languages.  His  efforts  in  that  direction  were 
limited  to  a  somewhat  superficial  study  of  the  Greek 
Testament  and  of  the  elements  of  Hebrew.  To  philoso- 
phy he  seems  to  have  paid  no  attention.  His  studies  in 
ecclesiastical  history  were  meager ;  in  ecclesiastical  polity 
they  were  merely  nominal.  He  regarded  the  ministry  as 
a  sort  of  military  service,  in  which  the  minister  had  snm 
ply  to  obey  orders  and  deliver  the  Commander's  mes- 
sage. He  was  beset  by  no  doubts  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion 5  he  took  it  for  granted  that  the  evangelicalism  of 
his  beloved  pastor,  Mcllvaine,  was  the  only  true  message 
of  the  gospel,  and  he  applied  himself  with  entire  devo- 
tion to  the  study  of  evangelical  theology.  In  after-years 
he  outgrew  not  a  little  of  the  narrowness  of  evangelical- 
ism} if  he  did  not  repudiate,  he  studiously  ignored, 
Calvinism ;  and  by  a  sort  of  sympathetic  instinct  he 
clearly  apprehended  and  cordially  embraced  the  idea  of 
the  historic  constitution  and  corporate  continuity  of  the 
Church.  But  at  that  time  he  sat  at  the  feet  of  his 
instructors  with  an  unquestioning  confidence  in  the 
authority  and  sufficiency  of  their  teachings,  and  his  one 
anxiety  was  to  prepare  himself  as  soon  as  possible  to 
teach  the  same  things  to  others.  His  only  relaxation 
while  at  the  Seminary  was  in  mission  work  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Alexandria;  and  during  his  vacation  his 
time  was  happily  spent  in  explaining  to  his  betrothed 
the  evangelical  truths  which  he  himself  had  learned. 

Throughout  his  Seminary  course  Mr.  Polk  kept  up  a 
constant  correspondence  with  his  father,  in  which  he 
wrote  of  persons  and  incidents  in  which  he  knew  that 
his  father  would  be  interested,  avoiding  any  special 
reference  to  his  own  pursuits,  to  which  he  knew  that  his 


Mt.  221     .  HENBY  CLAY.  109 

father  had  not  yet  become  reconciled.  Thus,  on  the  day 
after  he  had  become  permanently  settled  at  the  Semi- 
nary, he  wrote  as  follows,  describing  the  situation  of  the 
Seminary,  mentioning  a  visit  which  he  had  made  to  the 
President,  and  a  chance  meeting  with  Mr.  Clay,  regret- 
ting the  condition  of  the  White  House,  and  referring 
playfully  to  the  birth  of  his  father's  ninth  son,  for  whom 
he  apprehends  some  difficulty  in  finding  a  sufficiently 
heroic  name. 

THEOLOGiCAii  Seminary,  Nov.  5,  1828. 

I  became  permanently  fixed  at  the  Seminary  on  yester- 
day, and  find  the  place  and  its  advantages  altogether  such 
as  I  expected.  The  situation  of  the  Seminary  building,  for 
commanding  a  wide  and  extensive  range  up  and  down  the 
Potomac,  including  Alexandria,  Washington,  and  George- 
town, is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  (so  say  experienced  trav- 
elers) in  any  country.  We  are  about  two  miles  off  directly 
to  the  right  from  the  river  and  from  Alexandria,  and  about 
six  or  seven  from  Washington  and  Georgetown.  The  Capitol 
and  President's  house  are  very  plainly  seen  from  my  window 
as  I  now  sit  writing.  With  the  help  of  a  glass,  the  "  mem- 
bers" may  be  seen  going  up  into  the  building,  though  I  don't 
know  that  they  can  be  distinguished  individually. 

While  in  Washington  during  the  session  of  the  Education 
Society  of  our  church,  I  called,  with  two  other  gentlemen, 
to  see  the  President.  We  were  ushered  into  a  sort  of  ante- 
chamber until  the  servant  could  know  if  we  could  see  him. 
While  in  waiting,  Mr.  Clay  came  out  of  the  President's  room, 
and  gave  those  of  us  who  had  not  before  the  pleasure  of  his 
acquaintance  an  opportunity  of  knowing  him.  Mr.  Clay  is  a 
man  of  uncommonly  imposing  manners,  tall,  dignified,  affable, 
easy,  and  very  intelligent  looking ;  he  received  us  with  much 
grace.  He  inquired  after  your  health,  having  first  asked  me 
if  I  was  your  son,  and  said  he  had  the  pleasure  of  traveling 
with  you  some  years  since,  perhaps  in  Virginia.  Mr.  Adams, 
to  whom  we  were  soon  after  introduced,  is  as  awkward  as 
Mr.  Clay  is  easy.     He  seems  to  have  been  in  bad  health.    I 


110  VISIT  TO    WASHINGTON.  .        [1828 

suppose  perhaps  the  harassing  electioneering  tour  has  wasted 
him  away. 

The  buildings  and  grounds  about  the  President's  house 
seem  going  to  destruction,  and  some  of  the  rooms,  one  es- 
pecially, has  never  been  furnished.  It  is  a  broad,  long  room 
and  looks  more  like  parsimony  in  the  government  than  any- 
thing I  have  ever  seen. 

By  a  letter  from  Mary  I  heard  of  the  arrival  of  my  little 
brother,  and  as  General  Jackson  is  the  last  of  the  line  of 
heroes  and  sages,  I  fear  he  will  find  some  difficulty  in  get- 
ting a  name! 

Later  on  he  expresses  his  satisfaction  that  a  suitable 
name  for  his  infant  brother  has  been  found,  and  de- 
scribes a  visit  to  Washington : 

Theological  Seminary,  Nov.  21, 1828. 

I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  10th,  and  one  from  Ma 
of  the  same  date  also.  I  think  the  name  Charles  Adams 
very  suitable, —  more  so,  perhaps,  than  any  other,  especially 
as  that  side  of  the  house  seems  to  have  been  neglected.  I 
am  glad  too  that  he  is  a  son, —  not  that  I  have  objection  to 
having  sisters,  but  there  seems  to  be  less  difficulty  and  risk 
in  the  education  and  fives  of  boys  than  girls.  Nine  sons,  too, 
make  up  a  goodly  number. 

About  two  weeks  since  I  was  in  Washington  for  a  short 
time.  The  Houses  were  in  session.  It  was  the  first  time  I 
had  ever  seen  them  sitting.  Mr.  Stephenson,  the  Speaker 
of  the  House,  seemed  to  preside  with  a  good  deal  of  dignity 
and  dispatch  of  business.  In  his  manner  not  unlike  Mr.  B. 
Yancey,  I  think, —  quick,  and  sometimes  hasty.  The  Speaker 
of  the  other  House  —  Mr.  Smith,  I  think  —  is,  on  the  contrary, 
easy  and  rather  tame.  He  is  an  old  and  venerable-looking 
man.  While  in  the  House  I  heard  a  member  introduce  and 
speak  on  a  resolution  "  to  appoint  a  commission  for  each  State 
in  the  Union,  to  ascertain  what  works  of  internal  improvement 
were  necessary,  and  annually  to  report  to  Congress  the  result 
of  the  inquiries."    I  did  not  know  who  he  was.    He  was  a 


ML  22]         THE   COLONIZATION  SOCIETY.  Ill 

young  member,  of  prominent  cheek-bones,  face  altogether 
strongly  marked,  light  hair,  of  a  stentorian  voice,  which  made 
the  hall  ring,  or  rather  thunder,  and  of  a  gesticulation  strong 
and  powerful  as  a  blacksmith's.  I  heard  afterward  he  was 
Mr.  Chilton  of  Kentucky. 

James  K.  Polk  [afterward  elected  President  of  the  United 
States]  I  met  in  the  avenue.  He  has  his  wife  and  sister 
Ophelia  with  him.  They  belong  to  a  mess  with  several 
of  the  Louisburg  delegation,  with  whom  I  spent  the  evening. 
They  are  all  exceedingly  gratified  at  the  result  of  the  Presi- 
dential election,1  of  course,  and  James  thinks  he  will  probably 
leave  public  life  after  the  general's  term  of  service  expires. 
He  says  none  of  the  friends  of  the  general  have  the  smallest 
idea  who  he  will  appoint  to  fill  his  Cabinet  offices. 

At  that  time  the  Colonization  Society  was  making  a 
noble  but  unsuccessful  attempt  to  grapple  with  the 
slavery  problem.  Like  many  other  Southern  men,  Mr. 
Polk  was  in  hearty  sympathy  with  the  objects  of  the 
society,  and  fully  expressed  his  views  of  it  in  a  letter  to 
his  father : 

January  21,  1829. 
I  went  last  Saturday  to  Washington,  to  the  annual  meeting 
of  the  Colonization  Society.  The  day  —  or  rather  the  night  — 
was  rainy  and  the  meeting,  which  took  place  at  six  P.M.,  was 
not  so  well  attended  as  usual.  A  report  of  the  Board  of  Mana- 
gers was  read,  showing  the  colony  to  be  more  flourishing 
than  it  has  ever  been,  and  as  much  so  as  the  means  of  the  so- 
ciety, though  greatly  increased,  would  allow.  They  have 
had  an  accession  of  territory,  and  emigrants  are  on  better 
terms  with  the  neighboring  tribes  than  they  have  ever  been, 
and  are  beginning  to  understand  and  practice  successfully 
the  principles  of  self-government.  Their  schools  are  flourish- 
ing, and,  from  the  list  of  articles  of  agriculture  and  trade 
mentioned  in  the  report  as  abounding  in  the  colony,  they 
seem  to  possess  all  that  any  people  could  desire  for  personal 

l  General  Jackson's  first  election. 


112  NEGRO  EMIGRATION  TO  AFRICA.        [1828 

comfort  or  exchange.  The  only  obstacle  to  the  success  of  the 
colony  —  so  far  as  the  country  in  which  it  is,  is  concerned  —  is 
that  it  is  at  first  unhealthy  for  those  coming  from  the  northern 
part  of  the  United  States.  Those  south  of  a  line  drawn  east 
and  west,  and  passing  between  "Washington  and  Baltimore, 
stand  the  climate  very  well;  almost  all  north  of  that  line 
have  to  undergo  a  sort  of  preparation  by  taking  medicine, 
and  afterward  they  live  in  it  very  well.  The  society  seems 
to  have  gained  during  the  past  year  many  distinguished 
friends  —  particularly  in  Virginia.  There  was  a  State  society 
formed  in  Virginia  not  long  since  (at  the  head  of  which  was 
Judge  Marshall),  and  also  several  active  auxiliaries.  After 
the  report  was  finished,  Mr.  Mercer  of  Virginia  made  a 
speech  complimenting  the  friends  of  the  society  on  the  pros- 
perous state  of  things  it  exhibited,  etc.,  during  which  he 
noticed  the  progress  of  the  society  under  all  its  discourage- 
ments. He  is  a  very  easy  and  graceful  speaker,  and  very 
fluent.  A  Mr.  Key  of  Georgetown  also  spoke  on  a  resolution 
to  erect  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  their  late  agent,  Mr. 
Ashman,  who  seems,  under  Providence,  to  have  been  the 
main  founder  of  their  settlement.  Mr.  Stores  of  New  York 
and  Mr.  Clay  also  spoke,  with  sundry  others  of  less  note. 
Mr.  Clay  presented  and  spoke  on  a  resolution  thanking  the 
ladies  of  the  United  States  who  had  during  the  past  year 
taken  an  active  interest  in  the  aid  of  the  society,  and  espe- 
cially those  of  Petersburg,  Richmond,  and  Georgetown.  He 
seems  to  have  been,  from  the  formation  of  the  society,  its 
warm  friend,  and  said  he  well  recollected  some  years  since 
when  ten  or  a  dozen  gentlemen  met  in  a  small  room  to  form 
it;  then,  rapidly  sketching  the  progress  of  the  society,  he 
spoke  of  its  certain  success,  from  being  supported  by  most  of 
the  intelligent  and  benevolent  of  the  country,  the  great  ad- 
vantages held  out  to  emigrants  in  Africa,  and  the  inducements 
they  have  to  leave  this  country.  The  number  of  applicants 
for  transportation  greatly  exceeds  the  means  of  the  society. 
There  are  now  about  six  hundred.  The  plan  seems  to  be 
feasible,  and  indeed  has  been  shown  to  be  entirely  so.  All 
that  is  wanting  to  remove  not  only  the  blacks  that  are  free, 


ML  22]  J  A  CKSON  >S  IN  A  UG  URA  TION.  1 13 

but  those  that  are  enslaved  also,  is  the  consent  of  their 
owners  and  funds  to  transport  them.  There  is  land  sufficient 
and  productive  to  support  them  j  and  as  to  climate,  fortunately 
the  great  body  of  blacks  are  in  that  part  of  the  Union  from 
which  they  experience  least  inconvenience  in  Africa.  Now  I 
believe  in  the  course  of  not  many  years  one  State  after  an- 
other will  be  willing  to  abolish  slavery.  This  is  proved  by 
the  state  of  things  in  Maryland  and  Virginia,  the  slave  States 
farthest  north,  and  from  a  variety  of  motives  funds  enough 
will  be  raised  to  gradually  transport  them. 

I  attended  the  debates  in  the  House  of  Representatives  on 
the  Georgian  claims,  and  on  a  resolution  to  require  the  elec- 
tion of  several  officers  of  the  House — public  printer  among 
others  —  to  be  viva  voce.  This,  James  Polk  told  me,  was  intro- 
duced by  one  of  the  Jackson  party  to  elect  the  editor  of  The 
Telegraph,  which  they  are  fearful  they  cannot  do  if  the  vote 
of  each  member  is  not  known.  I  heard  a  speech  of  Mr.  Bar- 
ringer  in  opposition  to  it,  which  sounded  quite  like  the  legis- 
lature of  North  Carolina. 

I  saw  Governor  Iredell  for  a  few  moments,  who  gave  me 
the  latest  intelligence  I  have  had  from  home. 

James  Polk  showed  me  a  letter  from  a  correspondent  under 
General  Jackson  which  he  had  just  received,  stating  that  the 
general,  though  deeply  distressed  at  Mrs.  Jackson's  death,  was 
well,  and  would  travel  by  the  most  direct  route  to  Washington 
in  January  or  February. 

On  hearing  that  his  father  intended  to  be  present  at 
the  inauguration  of  General  Jackson,  he  wrote: 

February  10,  1829. 
I  was  gratified  to  hear  from  Ma  that  you  would  be  in 
Washington  on  the  4th  of  March,1  and  hope  that  your  ar- 
rangements will  enable  you  to  do  so,  taking  Alexandria  in  your 
way,  or  at  least  that  you  will  let  me  know  when  you  will  be 
in  Washington.  From  the  universal  excitement  which  seems 
to  pervade  the  country,  I  suppose  the  throng  will  be  greater 
l  For  Jackson's  inauguration. 


114  THE  SPOILS  SYSTEM.  [1829 

than  on  any  such  occasion  before ;  and  to  secure  comfortable 
lodgings,  therefore,  I  should  think  it  well,  either  to  get  to 
the  city  early  or  apprise  some  friend  of  your  coming.  You 
will  hardly  be  able  to  come  up  the  Potomac,  as  it  is,  and  has 
been  at  intervals,  either  frozen  over,  or  so  filled  with  floating 
ice  as  to  keep  the  steamboats  from  running  regularly.  And 
this  I  regret,  as  the  stage  route  —  should  you  come  by  stage  — 
is  at  this  season  very  uncomfortable  and  rugged.  General 
Jackson  wished,  I  understood,  to  have  us  parade  on  his  get- 
ting to  the  city ;  he  was  expected  to  be  there  on  the  8th.  I 
have  not  heard  of  his  arrival. 

In  the  month  of  June  he  expressed  to  his  father  the 
feeling  of  astonishment  with  which  he  and  others  re- 
garded the  aggressive  development  of  the  spoils  system 
in  the  public  service  by  General  Jackson. 

I  have  not  been  to  Washington  —  except  to  pass  through 
merely  —  since  I  was  there  with  you,  though  our  proximity  en- 
ables me  to  hear  of  most  of  the  things  of  interest  that  pass. 
I  do  not  know  how  others  may  have  been  affected,  but  the 
proscriptions  of  the  general,  from  party  considerations  merely, 
of  many  of  his  fellow-citizens  of  unimpeachable  character, 
seem  hardly  consistent  with  the  generous  and  dignified 
course  I  expected  from  him.  His  descending  to  the  removal 
of  petty  postmasters  in  obscure  parts  of  the  country  seems 
hardly  suitable  employment  for  the  head  of  so  great  a  nation, 
whose  very  station  must  furnish  ample  business  of  a  more 
elevated  and  altogether  more  useful  character.  Were  I  a 
politician,  I  fear  that  I  would  find  in  the  administration  thus 
far  enough  to  shake  my  Jackson  principles. 

During  the  summer  of  1829  Mr.  Polk  had  occasion  to 
use  his  influence  with  the  administration  in  the  correc- 
tion of  a  wrong  done  by  excessive  severity  in  discipline 
at  West  Point.  It  will  be  remembered  that  he  had 
himself  suffered,  while  a  cadet,  by  an  act  of  discipline  to 
which  he  submitted,  but  the  justice  of  which  he  never 


Mi.  23]  A   FRIEND  IN  NEED.  115 

ceased  to  deny,  holding  that  the  inequality  of  punish- 
ment administered  to  different  persons  for  identically 
the  same  offense  was  utterly  unjust.  While  at  the 
Seminary  he  was  visited  by  a  young  man  who  had  not 
indeed  been  blameless,  but  who  had  been  expelled  from 
the  Academy  for  faults  which  had  been  far  more  lightly 
punished  in  the  case  of  other  cadets.  Taking  the  case 
in  hand,  Mr.  Polk  visited  the  President  to  ask,  not  for 
mercy,  but  for  even-handed  justice  on  the  ground  of  the 
established  usage  of  the  Academy.  He  narrates  the 
circumstance  to  his  father  in  the  following  letter : 

Henry  Hawkins  called  on  me  last  Saturday.  Having  writ- 
ten in  reply  to  his  request,  advising  him  not  to  go  on  fur- 
lough, I  was  surprised  to  meet  him,  and  was  afraid  to  ask  his 
business.  He  soon  told  me,  however,  that  he  had  been  dis- 
charged from  the  Academy  for  deficiency  in  mathematics. 
This  was  a  terrible  shock,  for  the  poor  fellow  seemed  greatly 
mortified,  and  his  whole  prospects  were  blasted.  He  told  me 
that  a  great  number  had  been  found  deficient  in  the  different 
classes,  and  eight  perhaps  of  his  own  class,  some  for  conduct, 
some  for  French  or  drawing,  or  mathematics,  and  some  for 
all.  Among  the  latter  number  was  a  son  of  General  Brown, 
who  had,  notwithstanding,  been  retained  at  the  Academy, 
with  a  promise  that  he  should  be  permitted  to  join  the  next 
class.  A  son  of  Swartouts  [Collector  of  the  Port  of  New 
York,  perhaps]  was  deficient  in  several  branches  also,  and 
had  been  retained.  This  gave  Henry  a  claim  on  the  govern- 
ment for  a  like  privilege ;  and  I  went  with  him  forthwith  to 
the  President,  stated  his  case  to  him,  and  desired  his  restora- 
tion ivholly  on  the  ground  of  established  usage  in  such  cases.  His 
conduct  had  been  better  than  that  of  one  half  the  corps ;  he 
was  young  when  he  was  admitted  (too  young) ;  and  he  had 
been  found  deficient  but  in  one  branch.  All  these  are  con- 
siderations which  the  government  has  been  in  the  habit  of 
regarding  in  the  cases  of  young  men  who  have  been  dis- 
charged heretofore,  and  who  have  applied  for  reinstatement. 


116  ILLNESS   OF  HAMILTON  POLK.  [1830 

He  referred  Henry  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  stating  to  him  in 
a  letter  that,  if  it  was  proper,  he  desired  his  return.  The 
Secretary  required  him  to  lay  his  case  before  him  in  writing, 
which  he  did,  and  received  for  answer  that  he  should  be  re- 
stored, with  permission  to  go  on  with  the  next  class.  So  he  is 
again  a  cadet,  with  a  severe  lesson,  which  I  trust  and  believe 
has  so  impressed  him  that  he  will  never  forget  it. 

At  this  time  Mr.  Polk's  brother  Hamilton,  who  was 
then  a  student  at  Yale,  was  obliged  to  leave  college  on 
account  of  ill-health.  He  visited  Leonidas  at  the  Semi- 
nary, on  his  way  home.  Every  effort  to  arrest  the  pro- 
gress of  the  fatal  malady  of  consumption  wras  fruitless, 
and  in  the  following  spring  Leonidas  thought  it  neces- 
sary to  prepare  his  parents  for  the  probably  inevitable 
end  by  the  following  letter : 

Sunday,  March  3, 1830. 

My  dear  Mother :  Hamilton,  I  suppose,  lets  you  hear  from 
him  as  he  proceeds  on  his  journey.  Mary  said  she  would  let 
me  know  something  of  his  route  and  where  he  would  expect 
letters  that  I  might  write  to  him.  Through  a  letter  from 
brother  William  the  other  day,  I  heard  of  his  having  passed 
through  Salisbury;  the  direction  of  his  route  was  not  men- 
tioned. I  should  be  glad  to  know  it,  and  would  write  to  him. 
Poor  fellow,  I  cannot  but  follow  him  with  great  interest,  and 
allowing  his  case  not  to  be,  as  I  trust  it  is  not  now,  hazardous, 
yet  he  may  have,  and  undoubtedly  he  has,  the  appearance  of 
having  the  seeds  of  our  family  malady  sown  within  him.  A 
recognition  of  this  fact  is  at  best  painful,  but  I  confess  I  do 
not  see  the  wisdom  of  putting  away  from  our  minds  the  con- 
templation of  things  as  things  are  and  must  be.  There  is,  it 
is  true,  much  satisfaction  in  the  thought  that  we  and  ours 
shall  be  retained  in  being  as  we  are,  yielding  and  receiving 
mutual  kindnesses,  and  ministering  to  the  relief  of  each 
other's  cares  and  woes,  uninterrupted  by  disease  or  death; 
but  to  build  on  such  a  foundation  is  to  build  on  the  sand. 
The  whole  fabric  is  unstable,  and  to  persuade  ourselves  that 


Mt  231  THOUGHTS  ON  DEATH.  117 

it  is  firm  is  to  conjure  up  a  delusion  which  stays  and  represses 
our  alarms  for  a  while  only,  to  pour  upon  us  a  double  portion 
of  affliction  when  the  truth  must  come.  Thus  I  reason  with 
regard  to  all  my  earthly  attachments,  and  while  to  enjoy  and 
cultivate  them  is  one  of  the  happiest  of  this  world's  employ- 
ments, it  is  the  highest  wisdom  to  be  familiar  with  the  fact 
that  they  must  cease ;  and  not  only  so,  but  to  be  willing  and 
ready  to  relinquish  them  with  resignation  and  submission. 
They  may  all  go  and  leave  us  behind,  or  we  may  go  and  leave 
them,  when  and  how  we  know  not.  Death's  approach  is  like 
that  of  a  thief  in  the  night,  at  our  hand  sometimes  when  we 
little  expect  it;  and  yet  there  is  a  condition  in  which,  if  we 
live,  such  a  visitation  must  be  the  herald  of  peace  rather  than 
dismay.  Instead  of  the  withering  decree,  "  Cut  it  down,  why 
cumbereth  it  the  ground  ¥  "  it  is  in  our  power  to.  be  joyful  re- 
cipients of  the  thrilling  invitation,  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my 
Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world."  My  prayer,  dear  mother,  is  that  the 
minds  of  all  the  members  of  our  dear  family  may  be  disabused 
as  to  the  real  state  of  things,  and  that  we  may  all  be  eternally 
happy.  I  would  not  weary  you  with  such  frequent  and,  you 
may  think,  rather  urgent  remarks  as  I  have  occasionally 
made  touching  eternity.  I  would  make  my  correspondence 
and  my  whole  intercourse  with  you  and  my  dear  father  no 
otherwise  remarkable  than  so  far  as  they  may  contribute  to 
the  peace  and  ease  of  your  declining  years.  In  the  survey  of 
my  past  life  nothing  so  much  pains  me  as  the  recollection  of 
occasions  when,  from  misjudgment  or  the  criminal  impetu- 
osity of  my  naturally  ardent  disposition,  I  have  done  or  said 
things  which  must  have  pained  you.  I  entreat  you  to  erase 
the  recollection  of  them  from  your  memory,  and  believe  me 
most  truly  desirous  of  your  affection  and  approbation  and 
happiness.  Tmly  and  affecti0nately  your  son, 

L.  Polk. 

About  the  same  time  he  wrote  to  his  friend,  Dr.  Mc- 
Ilvaine,  of  his  occupations  in  the  Seminary  and  of  his 
approaching  ordination. 


118  MISSION   WOBK.  [1830 

Great  harmony  and  good  feeling  prevail  among  the  stu- 
dents (fifteen  in  number,  all  candidates  for  orders  and  in  full 
standing),  six  of  whom  will  be  ordained  during  the  approach- 
ing spring.  Our  little  meetings  in  the  neighborhood  are 
pretty  well  attended,  and  occasionally  much  feeling  and  in- 
terest are  manifested.  As  a  specimen  of  this  interest,  the 
meeting  I  have  attended  during  the  past  year  has  resolved  to 
build  a  neat  brick  chapel  for  its  use,  and  above  three  hun- 
dred dollars  have  been  subscribed  for  that  purpose.  It  will 
look  for  its  supply  of  ministers  to  the  students  of  the  Semi- 
nary as  generation  follows  generation. 

We  have  been  highly  gratified  with  the  exhibition  of  the 
spirit  of  missions  recently  manifested  in  your  parish.  We 
have  formed  a  society  in  the  Seminary,  and  another  in  the 
Alexandria  churches  is  shortly  to  be  raised,  which  it  is  hoped 
will  afford  its  full  quota  of  funds  to  the  mother  society.  A 
very  good  spirit,  we  learn,  is  abroad  in  the  congregations. 

The  Lord  willing,  I  shall  apply  for  orders  in  April.  I 
shall  be  likely  to  be  ordained  by  Bishop  Moore  in  Richmond. 
Whither  I  shall  go,  I  know  not.  And  now,  my  dear  brother, 
I  shall  in  an  especial  manner  want  your  prayers  and  counsel. 
Your  superior  experience  has  already  been  of  lasting  benefit 
to  me,  and  I  earnestly  hope  it  may  not  be  withheld  while  we 
shall  together  labor  in  the  cause  of  our  blessed  Master.  I 
would  seek  so  to  pass  through  things  temporal  as  not  to  lose 
sight  of  things  eternal,  and  I  would  strive  to  set  forward  the 
cause  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  multitudes  of  my  dying  fel- 
low-creatures. In  looking  about  me,  I  find  the  field  white 
with  the  harvest  in  every  direction,  and  I  am  only  solicitous 
to  know  my  appropriate  station. 

In  the  "little  meetings"  of  which  he  wrote  in  this 
letter,  Mr.  Polk  had  found  the  first  field  of  his  labors 
The  "  neat  brick  chapel "  was  their  first  result ;  and  it 
is  probable  that  the  activity  of  the  foreign  missionary 
"  society  in  the  Seminary  and  another  in  the  Alexandria 
churches"  was  more  largely  due  to  his  influence  than 


Mt.  23]  FAMILY  RELATIONS.  119 

his  modesty  allowed  him  to  perceive.  But  he  was  eager 
to  be  admitted  to  orders,  and  to  engage  in  the  full  work 
of  the  ministry ;  and  Dr.  Mcllvaine,  who  was  then  about 
to  visit  Europe,  wrote  to  request  that,  as  soon  as  he 
should  be  ordained,  he  would  take  charge  of  his  congre- 
gation in  Brooklyn.  This  offer  Mr.  Polk  was  compelled 
to  decline,  as  he  had  already  been  requested  by  Bishop 
Meade  to  remain  in  Virginia  to  assist  Bishop  Moore  in 
the  parochial  charge  of  the  Monumental  Church,  Rich- 
mond. 

It  had  been  understood  that  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Polk 
should  take  place  soon  after'  his  ordination,  and  in  an- 
nouncing that  he  expected  to  be  ordained  somewhat 
before  the  close  of  his  second  year  at  the  Seminary  he 
thought  it  right  once  more  to  give  expression  to  the 
depth  of  conviction  by  which  he  was  actuated  in  taking 
a  step  which  his  father  had  not  even  yet  cordially  ap- 
proved. At  the  same  time  he  expressed  his  anxiety  that 
his  brothers,  who  were  all  manly,  upright  men,  might 
not  be  estranged  from  him.  They  were  by  no  means 
irreligious  men,  but  they  were  fond  of  sports,  and  some 
of  them  were  particularly  interested  in  the  breeding  of 
race-horses.  It  was  not  open  antagonism  or  disrespect 
that  Leonidas  apprehended  from  these  warm-hearted 
country  gentlemen,  but  rather,  perhaps,  a  good-humored 
jocularity  concerning  sacred  things  which  it  would  be 
wrong  for  him  to  permit  and  painful  to  rebuke.  There 
is  a  subtle  indication  of  the  inward  sympathy  existing 
between  him  and  his  father  in  the  tacit  appeal  to  the 
latter  to  prevent  a  possible  but  painful  result  of  a  course 
which  he  himself  had  deprecated. 

I  regretted,  when  I  parted  with  you,  the  idea  of  not  seeing 
you  again  before  you  left  the  State,  and  particularly  on  an 


120  RELIGIOUS  CONVICTIONS.  [1830 

occasion  so  interesting  to  me  as  my  marriage,  and  I  have  been 
balancing  in  my  mind  repeatedly  during  the  fall  and  winter 
the  feasibility  of  preparing  for  orders  earlier  than  I  antici- 
pated. That  I  might  spend  some  months  longer  in  study  with 
advantage  is  certain.  But  as  I  had  concluded  to  present  my- 
self for  ordination  about  the  middle  of  May,  and  in  a  theolog- 
ical course  as  a  few  weeks  longer  or  shorter  could  not  be  of 
material  consequence,  I  have  concluded,  at  your  suggestion, 
to  endeavor  to  get  home  by  the  last  of  April.  This  will  cause 
me  to  request  ordination  of  Bishop  Moore  in  Richmond  on 
my  way  home.  I  am  much  pleased  with  the  prospect  of  meet- 
ing brother  Lucius,  whom  I  may  not  see  again  for  many 
years. 

And  now,  my  dear  father,  I  desire  to  say,  with  reference  to 
the  course  I  have  determined  to  pursue  during  my  life  on 
earth,  that  I  am  moved  to  it  by  the  soberest  convictions  of 
my  judgment  under  the  guidance,  as  I  firmly  believe,  of  the 
supreme  Governor  of  the  Universe,  and  that,  after  again  and 
again  revolving  in  my  mind  the  ground  of  my  confidence  in 
these  opinions,  I  am  but  the  more  thoroughly  persuaded  of 
their  truth  and  stability.  Believing  as  I  do,  after  mature 
deliberation,  that  there  neither  is  nor  can  be  any  reasonable 
ground  of  hope  for  happiness  in  eternity  but  in  the  belief 
and  practice  of  the  doctrines  and  duties  of  the  Christian 
religion,  and  that  all,  therefore,  who  fail  of  this  must  be  lost, 
I  feel  constrained  by  a  regard  for  the  welfare  of  my  fellow- 
creatures,  and  in  honor  of  our  common  Maker,  whose  worship 
and  service  we  by  nature  so  little  regard,  to  use  the  time  and 
talents  allotted  me  on  earth  in  unfolding  and  explaining  the 
scheme  of  redemption,  and  in  urging  its  acceptance.  This  I 
believe  to  be  my  obvious  and  unavoidable  duty,  and  in  enter- 
ing on  its  performance  my  earnest  desire  is  completely  to  dis- 
entangle myself  from  all  other  concerns  which  may  in  any 
wise  interfere  with  its  faithful  discharge,  and  of  course,  there- 
fore, to  concern  myself  no  further  with  worldly  affairs  than  is 
really  necessary.  This  course  differs  wholly  from  that  pur- 
sued by  any  of  my  brothers  who  have  preceded  me,  though 
not  more  than  the  motives  which  have  governed  our  sev- 


Mt.  24]        ORDINATION  AND  MAURI  AGE.  121 

eral  conclusions.  And,  for  myself,  I  can  only  say  that  I  am 
truly  conscientious  and  sincere ;  and  that  my  motives '  will 
be  appreciated  by  my  friends,  I  cannot  but  humbly  hope  and 
believe.  The  relation  into  which  I  shall  be  brought  to  them 
will  be  novel  and  in  some  respects  perhaps  a  painful  one,  for, 
however  nearly  allied  and  dear  to  me  they  may  be  by  ties  of 
natural  affection,  I  could  never  lose  sight  of  their  relation  to 
God,  nor  of  my  obligations  to  be  faithful  to  Him ;  and  though 
these  two  things  ought  not  ever  to  be  found  opposed  to  each 
other,  yet  possibly  they  might  be,  in  which  case  they,  being 
unable  to  enter  into  my  views  or  feel  the  force  of  my  cir- 
cumstances, could  neither  explain  my  conduct  nor  excuse 
me  from  censure.  That  this  may  never  occur  is  my  sincere 
desire,  but  more  particularly,  my  dear  father,  that  such  a 
change  may  be  effected  in  our  relative  conditions  as  entirely 
to  forbid  the  possibility  of  its  occurrence.  These  things  I 
have  thought  it  a  duty  frankly  and  affectionately  to  express 
to  you,  and  that  no  occasion  was  more  favorable  or  becoming 
than  the  present. 

On  Good  Friday,  April  9, 1830,  Mr.  Polk  was  ordained 
deacon  in  Richmond. 

On  May  6,  1830,  he  married  Miss  Devereux,  and  soon 
afterward  returned  to  Richmond  to  enter  on  his  duties 
as  assistant  to  Bishop  Moore  in  the  cure  of  the  Monu- 
mental Church.  The  following  letter  to  Mr.  Mcllvaine 
gives  an  account  of  his  Richmond  ministry : 

Richmond,  July  21, 1830. 
My  dear  Brother:  I  have  been  long  promising  myself  the 
pleasure  of  complying  with  your  request  to  give  you  an 
account  of  my  ordination,  first  preachings,  etc.,  and,  although 
several  months  have  elapsed  since  I  was  ordained,  I  have  not 
found  myself  altogether  prepared  for  it.  You  left  the  coun- 
try so  soon  after  writing  me  that  I  could  not  write  you  at 
Brooklyn,  and  I  have  been  so  situated  as  not  to  hear  a  word 
of  you  since  you  sailed,  where  you  were,  would  be,  etc.    I  was 


122  LABORS  AT  RICHMOND.  [1830 

ordained  on  Good  Friday,  and  presented  by  Brother  Robert- 
son, who  was  here  on  behalf  of  the  Greeks.  I  preached  on 
the  Sunday  following  from  John  iii.  16:  "  God  so  loved  the 
world,"  etc.,  my  first  sermon ;  and,  though  not  very  well,  and 
much  excited,  I  was  graciously  sustained  and  comforted  in 
the  delivery  of  my  message.  The  bishop  was  about  to  leave 
on  a  trip  to  Norfolk  and  the  Eastern  Shore,  and  had  re- 
quested me  to  fill  his  pulpit  until  his  return.  I  consented,  and 
remained,  and  preached  on  the  two  following  Sundays ;  in  the 
morning  from  Hebrews  xii.  14:  "  Without  holiness,"  etc.,  and 
from  James  ii.  18 :  "  Shew  me  thy  faith  without,"  etc.  I  found 
myself  very  much  fettered  by  my  notes,  and  could  not  help 
feeling  that  the  congregation  listened  as  to  a  written  essay 
rather  than  to  a  spirited  heartfelt  appeal  from  the  gospel.  I 
hope  time  will  make  it  otherwise,  and  enable  me  to  read 
freely.  For  it  is  dispiriting  labor  now,  and  I  do  not  feel  able, 
in  my  present  situation,  to  extemporize.  I  went  from  this  to  my 
home,  and  in  a  few  days  after  received  a  call  from  the  vestry 
to  assist  the  bishop.  The  way  seemed  to  have  been  so  plainly 
opened  before  me  that  I  could  not  but  regard  it  as  my  duty  to 
accept.  I  did  so  accordingly,  and  after  remaining  at  home 
over  three  Sabbaths,  I  returned  and  entered  upon  the  duties 
of  the  parish.  Thus  has  terminated  my  pathway  into  the 
ministry ;  thus  has  been  consummated  the  design  which  I 
humbly  trust  was  formed  with  an  eye  single  to  my  duty  as  a 
servant  of  Christ.  And,  oh,  that  I  may  not  have  been 
deceived,  and  that  new  evidence  may  break  in  upon  me  of  my 
having  been  indeed  moved  by  the  Spirit ! 

The  congregation  is  large,  and  the  fashionable  congrega- 
tion of  the  city.  We  have,  therefore,  spirits  of  every  grade 
and  character  to  deal  with.  About  one  hundred  and  thirty 
communicants,  few  males,  and  these  mostly  old  men.  I  do 
not  find  many  of  these  decidedly  and  actively  pious.  The 
bond  of  Christian  fellowship  is  not  so  strong  (a  fault  in  some 
degree,  I  have  thought,  common  to  our  Church,  is  it  not  ?)  as 
the  gospel  requires,  and  as  it  is  sometimes  seen  to  exist.  u  I 
pray  thee,  Father,  that  they  may  be  one,  as  we  are."  We 
have  the  usual  societies,  education,  foreign  and  domestic  mis- 


^t.  24]  IMPAIRED  HEALTH.  123 

sions, — they  are  pretty  active,  I  believe ;  a  weekly  lecture 
conducted  by  the  bishop,  during  the  day ;  and  we  are  now 
about  to  get  up  a  monthly  concert.  There  are  two  other 
Episcopal  churches  here,  Peet  (brother  of  your  superintend- 
ent) and  Lee  (son  of  E.  Lee  of  Alexandria)  ministers.  They 
are  both  good  men  and  disposed  to  lay  hold  of  every  means 
likely  to  be  efficiently  useful.  The  bishop  is  getting  old,  and 
is  for  peace.  He  is  cautious  and  admits  new  plans  and  means 
with  difficulty,  though  he  is  very  kind  and  affectionate.  He 
leaves  for  the  North  in  a  day  or  two,  and  will  be  gone  all 
summer.  I  feel  very  deeply,  at  times,  distressed  and  de- 
pressed, under  a  sense  of  the  magnitude  of  my  work.  I  feel 
inadequate  to  the  instruction  of  such  a  congregation,  and 
often  realize  the  force  and  necessity  of  St.  Paul's  exhortation 
to  Timothy,  "  Let  no  man  despise  thy  youth."  I  trust  I  am 
not  ignorant  of  the  way  to  be  saved,  but  to  present  it  so  as 
to  command  attention  and  constrain  obedience  is  beyond  my 
power,  and  I  know,  too,  that  all  power  is  of  God,  which  im- 
presses effectually.  I  now  feel  that  an  interview  with  you 
would  greatly  encourage  and  strengthen  me.  Your  counsels 
are  at  all  times  very  valuable  to  me.  Can  you  find  time  from 
your  valuable  engagements  to  drop  me  a  few  hints  1  It  re- 
joices me  to  know  that  the  desire  of  your  heart,  so  long  enter- 
tained, to  be  in  the  midst  of  the  great  Jerusalem  of  the  world 
where  the  tribes  go  up,  has  been  satisfied,  and  that  you  have 
beheld,  with  your  own  eyes,  the  mighty  men  whom  the  Lord 
is  employing  in  regenerating  the  earth. 

We  are  looking  to  your  visit,  with  that  of  the  excellent  doc- 
tor, to  be  of  immense  benefit  to  our  Zion  on  this  side  of  the 
water.  You  cannot  but  reap  a  large  harvest  of  information, 
both  general  and  particular. 

I  would  thank  you  to  notice  such  books  as  would  be  valua- 
ble to  me.  As  yet  I  have  no  library.  Can  you  procure  for 
me  a  copy  of  "  The  Fathers  of  the  Church"? 

Mr.  Polk's  health  had  been  somewhat  impaired  by 
severe  study  at  the  Seminary.  Soon  after  his  ordination 
Bishop  Moore  went  to  the  North,  leaving  him  alone  in 


124  DEATH   OF  HAMILTON  POLK.  [1830 

charge  of  the  congregation.  His  strength  was  over- 
taxed;  but,  in  spite  of  serious  indisposition,  he  kept 
steadily  at  work  until  he  was  taken  dangerously  ill. 

On  his  recovery  in  September  he  went  to  Raleigh  to 
be  with  his  brother  Hamilton,  who  had  come  home  from 
Yale  College,  only,  as  the  event  proved,  to  die.  After  one 
of  their  conversations,  in  which  Leonidas  had  avoided 
anything  that  seemed  like  preaching,  Hamilton  turned 
to  him  and  said,  "  Brother  Leonidas,  you  are  very  kind, 
you  are  always  with  me ;  do  you  think  I  am  going  to 
die  ? "  Leonidas  hesitated  for  some  moments,  and  then, 
in  the  gentlest  manner,  told  him  the  truth.  For  some 
time — perhaps  for  an  hour — the  dying  youth  was  silent. 
At  length  he  said,  quite  calmly,  "I  am  going  into  a 
world  of  which  I  know  nothing  —  can  you  tell  me  any- 
thing of  that  world,  and  how  I  am  to  prepare  for  it  I " 
Then  "right  joyfully"  the  young  deacon  preached 
"  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified "  to  his  dying  brother. 
The  bishop  often  afterward  spoke  of  the  intense  eager- 
ness with  which  his  brother,  during  his  few  remaining 
days,  listened  and  asked  questions.  Leonidas  never  left 
him,  night  or  day,  sleeping  only  a  few  moments,  now 
and  then,  by  his  side,  so  that  he  might  always  be  at  hand 
when  his  brother  was  disposed  to  converse.  At  length 
he  baptized  him,  and  when  all  was  over  he  fulfilled  his 
brother's  last  request  to  read  the  burial  service  of  the 
Church  over  his  grave.  After  these  tender  ministries, 
and  the  great  sorrow  which  closed  them,  Mr.  Polk  re- 
turned to  Richmond,  feebler  than  before. 

The  loss  mentioned  in  the  following  letter,  written 
soon  after  the  death  of  Hamilton,  is  that  of  his  brother 
Charles,  a  promising  child  of  two  years  of  age,  the 
choice  of  whose  name  had  been  a  subject  of  affectionate 
pleasantry : 


Mt.  24]  DEATH  AND  ETERNITY.  125 

Richmond,  November  4, 1830. 
My  dear  Father:  I  have  received  both  your  letters  of  the 
10th  and  18th,  and  do  most  deeply  sympathize  with  yon  and 
my  dear  mother  under  your  severe  bereavement.  To  have 
lost  one  son  under  the  distressing  circumstances  which  at- 
tended the  case  of  poor  H.,  however  alleviated  by  the  assur- 
ance that  he  was  benefited  by  the  change,  was  seriously 
afflictive;  but,  before  this  wound  had  lost  its  freshness,  to 
have  to  sustain  another  in  a  strange  land,  in  the  person  of 
such  an  engaging  and  lovely  boy,  must  have  been  almost  in- 
supportable. But,  my  dear  father,  the  hand  of  Death  must, 
sooner  or  later,  be  laid  upon  us  all,  however  engaging  or 
tenderly  loved.  And  while  the  reflection  that  we  do  but  suf- 
fer the  common  lot  of  all  the  living  may  make  you  feel  as  if 
you  were  not  alone  in  your  sorrows,  you  may  doubtless  have 
the  assurance,  also,  that  every  stroke  which  diminishes  our 
number  does  but  draw  those  who  are  left  the  more  closely  to 
you.  I  feel  this,  and  doubt  not  it  is  felt  in  common  by  us  all. 
But  I  cannot  forbear  the  reflection  that,  however  united  and 
cordial  our  affections  may  be,  and  however  grateful  to  our 
parents,  the  demonstrations  we  have  just  had  prove  most 
painfully  that  our  happiness  must  be  founded  upon  a  more 
enduring  basis.  Our  children  and  our  parents  are  sources  of 
great  comfort  and  happiness  to  us  j  but,  alas !  they  are  mor- 
tal— they  cannot  abide  with  us,  nor  we  with  them.  And 
there  is  not,  nor  can  be,  any  security  or  permanency  in  our 
union  but  that  which  is  founded  on  a  common  interest  in  the 
inheritance  of  the  real  Christian  beyond  the  grave.  Should 
we  all  possess  this,  our  separation  at  death  must  be  but  tem- 
porary, our  sorrows  at  parting  the  sorrows  of  those  "who 
are  not  without  hope,"  and  our  reunions  positive  and  eternal. 
And  I  cannot  but  feel  that  you  will  excuse  me,  my  dear  fa- 
ther, though  a  son,  for  placing  before  you  these  things,  and 
affectionately  urging  and  entreating  your  attention  to  them 
as  the  only  source  of  consolation  under  the  distresses  to 
which  we  are  subject  here,  and  the  only  ground  of  hope  here- 
after. Many,  indeed,  are  the  resorts  to  which  we  may  betake 
ourselves  to  drown  sorrow  or  assuage  grief,  and  many  pleas- 


126  BIRTH  OF  FIRST  CHILD.  [1831 

ing  delusions  of  protracted  days  and  eternal  safety  may  lull 
our  fears  and  quiet  our  apprehensions ;  but  the  experience — 
the  repeated  experience  —  of  ages  has  too  often  shown  the 
one  to  be  unsubstantial,  and  the  Word  of  God  most  solemnly 
warns  and  cautions  us  against  the  other.  Only  under  the 
fatherly  protection  of  the  Almighty  Parent  of  the  Universe, 
secured  to  us  through  the  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ  and  by 
the  agency  of  his  Spirit,  are  safety  and  true  peace  to  be  found. 
I  have  no  higher  wish  than  that  while  these  blessings  are 
strewed  around  with  such  a  bountiful  hand,  and  so  many  are 
gathering  them,  my  own  dear  parents  and  brothers  may  not 
be  neglected  j  nor  can  there  be  any  period  more  favorable 
than  when  our  minds  have  been  awakened  to  the  vanity  of 
earthly  hopes  by  an  afflictive,  though  friendly,  visitation  from 
above,  as  the  cares  of  the  world  and  the  hand  of  Time  will 
certainly  obliterate  our  impressions  and  sink  us  again  into  a 
fatal  security.  My  dear  father,  bear  with  your  son,  who  has 
no  other  earthly  motive  than  your  highest  happiness  when  he 
reminds  you  of  your  very  protracted  old  age,  the  certainty  of 
death,  the  immense  and  boundless  eternity  before  you,  and 
the  absolute  necessity  of  a  Christian  character  in  order  to  en- 
sure your  happiness.  May  the  Great  and  Mighty  Being,  be- 
fore whom  we  must  stand,  graciously  assist  us  all ! 

Your  affectionate  son, 

L.  Polk. 

On  January  27,  1831,  Mr.  Polk's  first  child  was  born, 
—  a  son,  whom  he  called  Hamilton,  after  the  brother  he 
had  lost.  It  had  been  hoped  that  the  winter  would  bring 
relief  to  his  protracted  illness ;  but  the  hope  was  disap- 
pointed, and,  as  the  spring  opened,  his  family  and  friends 
were  filled  with  apprehension.  In  April  he  considered  it 
his  duty  to  resign  his  position  at  Richmond ;  and  after 
taking  his  wife  and  child  to  her  father's  home  in  Raleigh, 
he  returned  to  Virginia  to  attend  the  Diocesan  Conven- 
tion at  Norfolk,  wThere  he  was  ordained  priest  in  May, 
1831.    He  then  rejoined  Mrs,  Polk  at  Raleigh,  but  re- 


iEt.25]  SAILS  FOR  EUROPE.  127 

mained  with  her  only  a  fortnight.  Travel  on  horseback 
by  easy  stages  was  prescribed  for  him,  and  about  the 
middle  of  June  he  rode  through  Virginia  to  Alexandria, 
and  thence,  with  his  friend  Dr.  Keith,  to  Philadelphia. 
On  consulting  a  physician  in  Philadelphia,  he  was  told 
he  had  but  a  few  months  to  live.  He  then  consulted 
Doctors  Chapman  and  Jackson,  who  advised  a  sea- voyage 
and  European  travel,  but  they  urged  his  immediate  de- 
parture. Acting  on  this  advice,  he  went  at  once  to  New 
York,  and  on  the  8th  of  August,  1831,  he  sailed  for 
Europe. 

After  a  stormy  voyage  of  twenty  days,  nineteen  of 
which  he  passed  in  his  berth,  suffering  all  the  miseries 
of  seasickness,  Mr.  Polk  landed  in  Havre  on  the  28th  of 
August.  Thence  he  went  by  diligence  to  Paris,  where  he 
remained  six  weeks,  taking  medical  advice  and  seeing 
much  that  interested  him.  He  was  reassured  by  the 
opinion  of  the  celebrated  Chomel  that,  though  possibly 
overtaxed,  his  lungs  were  not  affected  with  disease.  Con- 
sequently, all  he  had  to  do  was  to  enjoy  his  leisure,  leav- 
ing nature  in  her  own  way  to  effect  a  cure.  As  soon  as 
he  was  settled  in  quarters,  he  wrote  his  father  as  follows. 
The  letter  is  suggestive  both  to  the  farmer  and  the  poli- 
tician. 

Paris,  September  18,  1831. 

My  dear  Father:  Before  the  receipt  of  this  you  will,  of 
course,  have  been  apprised  of  my  absence  from  America  and 
the  cause  of  it.  I  am  happy  in  being  able  to  say  that  I  seem  to 
have  experienced  benefit  from  my  voyage, —  at  least,  it  seems 
now  to  begin  to  appear.  At  first,  shortly  after  landing,  I  was 
not  well.  My  pain  has  since  abated,  my  color  become  better, 
strength  increased,  and  I  am  much  less  nervous.  I  trust  that 
my  health  may  be  again  entirely  restored.   . 

Our  voyage  was  short,  only  twenty-one  days,  and  on  the 
whole  quite  as  agreeable  as  I  had  reason  to  expect  j  at  times 


128  A  PARIS  MOB.  [1831 

it  was  delightful,  then  wretchedly  miserable.  We  landed  at 
Havre  de  Grace,  then  passed  along  the  border  of  the  Seine 
to  Rouen  and  up  to  Paris  in  a  huge,  misshapen  coach,  called 
by  a  singular  misnomer,  "  diligence."  This  vehicle  consists 
of  three  apartments,  all  joined  together,  and  upon  the  same 
level,  extending,  when  on  the  wheels,  well  nigh  the  full  length 
of  a  road  wagon.  It  is  in  fact  three  coaches  fastened  to- 
gether. The  baggage  is  all  carried  on  the  top,  and  it  is  capable 
of  accommodating  about  twenty  or  thirty  persons.  Persons 
often  ride  on  the  top.  In  approaching  Paris  and  throughout 
the  whole  route  from  the  sea-shore,  indeed,  we  passed  through 
a  beautiful  country  all  under  cultivation.  The  grounds  seem 
well  tilled,  though  entirely  open,  without  fences ;  occasionally, 
but  rarely,  a  hedge. 

It  was  harvest,  the  grain  was  lying  in  shocks  on  the  ground, 
piled,  I  observed,  on  the  sides  of  the  shock,  and  not  the  ends, 
as  with  us.  I  was  struck  with  the  honesty  of  the  people  in  not 
troubling  the  fruit  which  hung  plentifully  on  the  trees  and 
vines  quite  on  the  roadside,  unprotected.  This  is  the  season 
of  the  vintage  also.  Their  grapes  are  delightful,  and  in  great 
abundance.  The  pears  and  peaches  are  also  very  fine  and 
well  flavored,  as  also  the  strawberries.  Finer  peaches  I  have 
never  seen  anywhere. 

I  am  lodging  comfortably  in  the  part  of  Paris  where  I  have 
been  for  near  a  fortnight.  I  may  remain  as  long,  or  longer, 
before  going  down  farther  to  the  south,  where  I  propose 
spending  the  winter.  I  shall  winter  probably  in  Italy  near 
Naples.  This  nation,  you  will  remember,  has  been  revolution- 
ized since  I  saw  you ;  it  is  still  not  contented  with  the  order 
of  things ;  and  on  hearing  of  the  fall  of  Warsaw,  the  strong- 
hold of  the  struggling  Poles,  the  outcry  against  the  Ministry 
was  very  loud  and  threatening.  This  happened  night  before 
last.  The  mob  passed  under  my  window  to  the  house  of  the 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  where  they  called  for  the  Minis- 
ter ;  the  doors  were  closed  and  barricaded;  they  pelted  the 
house  with  stones,  broke  the  windows,  etc.  The  excitement 
continued  through  the  night  and  has  done  so  up  to  this  period. 
Yesterday  the  mob  was  more  violent  than  to-day.    Every 


Mt.  25]  CRISIS  IN  EUROPE.  129 

effort  is  made  on  the  part  of  the  government  to  quell  it; 
whether  they  will  succeed  is  doubtful.  Things  are  by  no 
means  settled.  The  government  has  not  the  confidence  of  the 
people.  The  poorer  classes  are  in  great  distress.  The  money- 
holders  will  not  invest  their  capital,  and  many  of  the  wealthy 
have  either  gone  into  the  country  or  left  France,  so  that  few 
purchases  are  made  beyond  the  articles  of  immediate  neces- 
sity. The  Liberals  fear  that,  now  the  affairs  of  Belgium  are 
settled  and  Poland  fallen,  the  Great  Powers  will  turn  their 
attention  to  France,  and  combine  to  put  down  the  existing 
and  restore  the  former  government. 

The  whole  of  Europe  is,  indeed,  in  a  critical  condition,  and 
may  in  a  month  —  or  at  any  moment,  indeed  —  be  involved  in 
a  general  war. 

We  cannot  be  too  grateful  that  so  vast  an  expanse  of  water 
separates  us  from  the  broils  and  misrule  of  this  region  of 
crowned  heads. 

His  diary  shows  that  his  thoughts  were  never  diverted 
by  the  attractions  of  the  gay  capital  from  what  had  be- 
come the  controlling  influence  and  purpose  of  his  life. 
On  Sunday,  October  2d,  after  attending  divine  service, 
he  writes : 

The  minister  may  be  undoubtedly  styled  evangelical.  He 
preached  at  half  past  eleven  a.m.  and  at  three  p.m.  I  at- 
tended both  services.  In  the  morning  the  communion  was 
administered,  and  I  trust  to  the  refreshing  of  my  soul.  How 
blessed  it  is  to  hold  sweet  communion  with  kindred  spirits, 
around  the  board  of  one  common  Lord !  Lord,  increase  with- 
in me  a  deeper  sense  of  thy  goodness.  Cleanse  thou  my  soul 
from  all  that  is  impure  and  unholy,  and  breathe  into  me 
afresh  the  breath  of  spiritual  life. 

In  commenting  on  the  morning  service,  he  remarks : 
"  I  see  no  use  of  doctrines  which  cannot  be  used  to  affect 
the  practice  of  the  hearer  both  toward  God  and  man." 
Of  the  evening  discourse,  he  says :  "The  preacher  failed, 


130  TRAVELING  IN  BELGIUM.  [1831 

I  thought,  in  not  applying  his  subject.  This  part  of  the 
preacher's  duty  —  perhaps  one  of  the  most  unpleasant, 
certainly  one  of  the  most  difficult  to  be  done  well  —  is 
too  often  slurred  over  by  us  all." 

Sunday,  October  9. —  I  went  to  hear  Bishop  L at  the 

Ambassador's  Chapel.  In  the  afternoon  so  much  fatigued  I 
did  not  leave  my  chamber.  It  is  pleasant  at  times  to  be 
alone — away  from  the  gaze  and  bustle  of  the  world,  above 
all,  away  from  the  presence  of  this  extraordinary  city.  I  had 
some  pleasant,  and  I  trust  profitable,  reflections.  Thought 
much  of  my  dear  wife  and  little  one. 

Tuesday,  October  11. — At  five  o'clock  I  was  under  way  for 
Brussels  in  the  diligence,  with  a  Frenchman  on  each  side  of 
me.  I  was  in  the  coupe.  We  rode  thus,  without  speaking, 
for  many  hours,  so  that  I  was  left  to  reflections  on  my  stay  in 
Paris,  the  people,  etc.  I  may  sum  up  all  in  this  and  say:  If 
we  had  no  souls,  if  this  world  were  the  only  theater  of  our 
existence,  and  if  pleasure  in  its  most  extended  sense  were  the 
sole  object  of  life,  Paris  is  the  place  to  find  it.  For  pleasure, 
I  suppose,  Paris  is  the  first  place  in  the  world.  But  if  this 
life  is  the  place  to  prepare  for  another,  and  if  the  Scriptures 
are  true,  one  had  better  live  anywhere  else. 

October  16. —  Had  to  hire  carriage  to  take  me  to  the  Dutch 
lines,  for  which  I  paid  thirty -four  francs ;  but  could  do  no 
better.  This  was  the  usual  price.  Passed  out  of  Antwerp 
and  through  a  flat  and  uninteresting  country,  thickly  popu- 
lated, and  in  some  places  wholly  unproductive, —  unlike  that 
between  Antwerp  and  Brussels,  which  I  could  compare  to 
nothing  else  but  a  great  kitchen -garden.  At  one  o'clock  I 
was  at  the  advanced  post  of  the  Dutch,  where  I  found  several 
sentinels  along  the  lines.  I  handed  my  passport  to  the  ser- 
geant, who  dispatched  it  to  the  commandant  of  the  small 
town  before  which  his  command  was  placed.  It  was  returned 
with  a  carriage  to  take  me  out  of  the  hands  of  my  Belgian 
friends.     I  mounted  into  a  vehicle  very  like  the  Quaker  gigs 


ML  25]  A   SPRIG   OF  ROYALTY.  131 

of  Pennsylvania;  beside  me  was  my  trunk,  and  beside  the 
driver  was  the  sentinel,  who  was  taking  me  to  the  command- 
ant of  the  station.  On  arriving  I  was  passed  as  not  contra- 
band, and  my  driver,  a  dry,  thin,  queer-looking  little  Dutch- 
man, as  if  delighted  to  have  me  passed  so  easily,  was  making 
good  speed  out  of  the  town,  when  he  was  brought  to  by  the 
custom-house  officer  with  a  call  to  examine  my  baggage. 
There  was  no  avoiding  it,  so  we  stopped,  and,  amid  the 
gazing  throng  of  good  citizens  of  Landort,  I  opened  my 
treasures  and  politely  offered  to  assist  mynheer,  who  was 
tumbling  my  linen  with  his  dirty  fingers.  He  rejected  the 
kindness  and  said  he  would  rather  look  for  himself.  He  asked 
if  I  had  any  letters.  I  answered,  "No,"  but  he  continued 
the  search,  and  presently,  with  much  satisfaction,  laid  his 
hand  upon  a  packet  of  letters  of  introduction  which  I  had 
quite  forgotten.  These  he  turned  over  and  over  until  he  came 
to  one  that  was  sealed.  "  Ah,"  said  he,  addressing  one  near 
him.  "Here,  take  it  to  the  commandant."  This  unfortu- 
nate document  was  a  letter  of  introduction  from  Bishop  Ives 
to  the  editor  of  The  Christian  Observer.  The  Dutchman,  no 
doubt,  thought  it  might  contain  some  dreadful  Belgian  plot. 
However,  it  was  soon  returned  unopened.  The  commandant 
probably  thought  that  an  American  clergyman,  writing  by 
another  to  another  in  England,  could  have  very  little  to  do 
with  Dutch  politics. 

On  reaching  The  Hague  he  called  upon  Mr.  Dabezac 
of  New  Orleans,  the  American  charge  d'affaires,  by  whom 
he  was  kindly  received  and  entertained. 

I  was  struck  to-day  [the  diary  proceeds]  with  the  sort  of 
respect  shown  by  the  subjects  of  his  Majesty  to  the  sprouts 
and  sprigs  of  royalty,  and  also  with  what  is  deemed  "  comme 
il  faut "  on  the  part  of  the  representatives  of  foreign  powers. 
While  walking  with  Mr.  Dabezac  in  the  wood,  we  were  over- 
taken and  passed  by  a  number  of  persons  who  are  more  or 
less  constantly  thronging  this  inviting  resort.  Among  these 
at  length  appeared  a  child  of  about  ten  years  of  age,  accom- 


132  SWITZERLAND  AND   THE  ALPS.  [1831 

panied  by  her  governess,  and  followed  by  a  servant  in  livery. 
To  this  little  creature  I  observed  the  greatest  attention  paid 
by  all  who  came  near  her,  the  men  facing  inward  and  rever- 
ently raising  their  hats,  the  women  courtesying.  I  asked 
Mr.  Dabezac  who  it  was.  He  had  scarcely  time  to  reply 
before  she  was  at  our  heels,  and  he,  disengaging  himself  from 
my  arm,  had  faced  inward,  and  given  the  customary  salute 
with  great  gravity.  This  was  so  profoundly  ridiculous  in  an 
American  that  I  doubted  for  a  moment  that  it  was  not  done 
in  burlesque  j  but  this  doubt  is  to  be  set  down  to  my  igno- 
rance of  diplomatic  usage.  This  child,  it  appears,  was  the 
daughter  of  Prince  Frederick,  one  of  the  sons  of  the  king, 
and  because  of  that  relation,  however  incapable  of  under- 
standing or  estimating  the  honor,  she  was  treated  with  the 
homage  due  to  or  exacted  by  royalty. 

At  Berne  Mr.  Polk  visited  Hofwyl,  the  celebrated 
school  of  Mr.  Fellenberg.  One  of  the  most  pleasant 
days  of  his  travel  was  spent  there  in  examining  the 
working  of  the  school,  and  in  learning  from  Mr.  Fellen- 
berg the  peculiar  advantages  which  he  claimed  for  his 
system  of  instruction. 

After  visiting  many  points  of  interest  in  Switzerland, 
he  crossed  the  Alps  into  Italy,  reached  Rome  by  easy 
stages,  and  there  spent  several  weeks.  His  health  was 
never  good;  and  he  sometimes  doubted  whether  he 
would  ever  be  able  to  undertake  the  active  duties  of  the 
ministry.  The  following  extracts  from  his  diary  and 
letters  are  given  not  because  his  observations  were  in 
any  way  novel  or  profound,  but  because  they  illustrate 
the  steadfast  devotion  of  the  man  at  n  time  of  greatest 
discouragement.  At  Rome  he  made  the  following  en- 
tries : 

Passed  the  Forum  Romanorum,  the  most  celebrated  and 
classic  spot  of  the  city.    Here  was  the  place  for  the  meeting 


Mt.  25]  HOME.  133 

of  the  Senate,  for  the  gathering  of  the  people,  for  the  trans- 
action of  all  business  of  interest  under  the  kingdom,  the 
republic,  and  the  empire ;  here  poets  recited,  philosophers 
taught,  orators  convened.  But  another  reflection  was  more 
gratifying — these  ruins  had  heard  the  energetic  and  ani- 
mated voice  of  the  great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles ;  for  who  may 
doubt  that  he  whose  whole  soul  was  so  heartily  in  the  work 
which  had  brought  him  bound  to  Rome  would  neglect  the 
opportunity  offered  daily  in  the  Forum  for  preaching  the 
gospel  f 

After  passing  the  triumphal  arch  of  Constantine  the  Great, 
and  the  confused  mass  of  the  ruins  of  the  palace  of  the 
Caesars,  we  came  to  the  Colosseum.  Its  astonishing  magnifi- 
cence impresses  all,  and  the  Christian  is  awed  by  the  fact  that 
on  this  spot  thousands  of  the  followers  of  Christ  were  made 
the  prey  of  wild  beasts,  by  the  cruelty  of  imperial  monsters 
who  disgraced  human  nature. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1831  he  writes  in  his  journal : 

Thus  endeth  another  year.  I  dare  not  look  back  into  it  to 
find  consolation.  Much,  very  much  do  I  see  in  it  to  deplore 
with  the  keenest,  bitterest  regret ;  and  I  can  only  be  relieved 
from  the  unhappiness  of  such  a  retrospect  by  humbly  casting 
myself  at  the  foot  of  the  Mercy-seat,  confessing  fully  and 
penitently  my  transgressions,  and  imploring  grace  to  brace 
and  strengthen  me  against  the  future  assaults  of  the  tempter. 
May  God  forgive  me  for  the  past,  and  assist  me  in  future,  for 
Christ's  sake. 

January  1,  1832. — A  new  year,  opening  on  the  Lord's 
day.  May  the  tranquillity  of  this  holy  day  be  diffused  through 
the  entire  year,  and  may  the  peace  it  is  calculated  to  inspire 
be  the  lot  of  me  and  mine. 

Attended  the  English  service.  The  preacher  called  upon  us 
to  look  back  and  see  how  many  of  our  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances have  passed  into  eternity.  I  did  so,  and  was  surprised 
at  the  number.     What  thoughtless  mortals  we  are,  and  how 


134  AN  ITALIAN  CUSTOM-HOUSE.  [1832 

little  impressed  with  the  solemn  realities  which  encompass 
us !  I  spent  the  day,  after  returning  from  church,  in  my  room, 
pondering  over  the  circumstances  of  the  season.  May  the 
Lord  assist  me  in  consecrating  my  heart,  during  the  whole  of 
this  new  year,  exclusively  to  his  service.  My  dear  wife  and 
child — their  absence  at  this  season  I  feel  particularly.  There 
are  certain  seasons  signalized  and  set  apart  for  special  devo- 
tion to  all  our  interests ;  this  is  one  of  them,  and  my  heart 
goes  back  to  my  dear  home.  I  commend  it  and  them  to  the 
mercy  and  blessing  of  God. 

January  18. —  Shortly  after  leaving  Terracina  I  became  a 
subject  of  the  King  of  Naples,  and  almost  as  soon  had  a  speci- 
men of  the  privileges  of  my  new  situation.  After  passing  the 
advanced  post  where  the  passport  was  vised,  I  encountered 
the  custom-house  at  Fondi.  I  left  the  arrangement  of  my 
baggage  to  my  servant  as  usual,  and  was  reading  j  but,  finding 
him  somewhat  long,  I  looked  out,  and  saw  an  exceedingly  ill- 
looking  and  dirty  man  handling  and  rumpling  some  prints  I 
had  picked  up  on  my  route.  One  parcel  of  my  clothes  was 
lying  here,  another  there,  the  whole  surrounded  by  a  party  of 
hard-looking,  half -naked  spectators.  Seeing  the  man  carry- 
ing the  prints  into  the  house,  I  got  out  of  the  carriage  and 
asked  what  was  the  matter.  Just  then  the  upper  part  of  the 
trunk  was  opened  and  some  books  were  seen.  "  Oh,"  said 
the  inspector,  "books  too.  This  trunk  must  be  taken  up- 
stairs." Remonstrance  and  the  repeated  declaration  that  I 
was  not  a  peddler,  and  that  the  prints  and  books  were  simply 
those  of  a  traveler,  were  in  vain.  I  was  talking  to  a  stone. 
He  could  not  see  any  difference  between  a  traveler  who  had 
picked  up  a  print  here  and  there,  as  a  souvenir  of  his  tour,  or 
who  had  stowed  in  his  trunk  a  book  or  two  to  beguile  an  idle 
hour,  and  a  smuggler  who  got  his  living  by  carrying  those 
articles  from  kingdom  to  kingdom  j  he  only  saw  that  in  my 
trunk  were  certain  things  he  was  taught  to  call  books,  and 
that  they  were  on  the  list  of  the  articles  taxed.  In  spite  of  all 
my  eloquence  of  action  and  all  the  vocal  and  vociferous  elo- 
quence of  Paul,  my  Italian  servant,  the  whole  was  speedily 


ML  25]  BED  TAPE.  135 

excised,  and  I  was  informed  that  twenty  dollars  would  be  re- 
quired of  me  before  I  could  be  permitted  to  proceed.  This  I 
positively  refused  to  pay.  I  could  not  believe  that  a  govern- 
ment with  a  particle  of  intelligence  or  just  feeling  could  sub- 
ject travelers  to  such  low  and  pitiful  extortion,  and  if  it  did, 
I  was  unwilling  to  abide  the  decision  of  a  set  of  creatures 
who  seemed  alike  deficient  in  sense  and  principle.  I  there- 
fore "  appealed  to  Caesar,"  and  told  them  I  would  take  the 
case  before  the  highest  revenue  officers  at  Naples.  They  ob- 
jected that  this  course  was  unusual  and  would  be  useless.  I 
insisted  upon  sealing  the  trunks,  and  having  the  usual  cer- 
tificates withheld,  for  want  of  which  my  baggage  would  be 
seized  at  the  city  gates  and  carried  to  the  custom-house. 
But  this  would  not  do ;  in  short,  the  only  thing  they  would 
do — and  that  they  thought  I  would  refuse — was  to  allow  a 
guard  to  accompany  me.  This  I  readily  accepted,  and  mount- 
ing the  sergeant  beside  my  servant,  with  the  questionable 
articles  packed  in  a  separate  parcel  which  was  duly  sealed,  I 
proceeded  on  my  route.  I  considered  the  case  so  plain,  and 
the  demand  so  unreasonable,  that  I  was  determined,  for  the 
principle  involved,  to  incur  expense  and  inconvenience  rather 
than  submit  to  it. 


Writing  afterward  from  Naples,  he  concludes  this  epi- 
sode : 

As  to  the  books  and  prints  and  the  soldiers  of  the  custom- 
house, I  have  to  say  that,  though  I  have  been  here  four  days, 
I  have  just  had  my  property  safely  delivered  to  me.  On  arriv- 
ing here,  I  sent  my  card,  with  a  detailed  statement  of  the 
matter,  to  the  revenue  officer,  and  another  to  a  prince  who,  T 
heard,  was  in  some  way  connected  with  the  government,  and 
a  man  of  high  and  honorable  feeling.  I  counted  merely  on 
the  justice  of  the  protest  and  the  character  of  the  individual 
to  whom  it  was  addressed.  I  had  no  special  claim  to  his 
assistance  j  but  I  was  not  disappointed.  He  went  himself  to 
the  custom-house,  made  my  case  his  own,  protested  against 
the  injustice  of  interfering  with  the  books  and  papers  of  a 


136  NAPLES.  [1832 

traveler,  and  insisted  on  their  being  restored  to  me  at  once, 
free  of  duty.  He  did  not  belong  to  this  department  j  his  in- 
fluence, therefore,  was  indirect.  After  three  days7  consulta- 
tion, and  weighing  and  calculating,  I  was  told  that  the 
original  amount  demanded  would  be  abated  two-thirds.  I 
was  gratified  to  gain  the  point,  although  it  had  cost  me  both 
inconvenience  and  vexation.  One  is  forced  to  the  reflection 
that  a  government  so  unrighteously  administered  must  ere 
long  go  to  the  wall. 

Naples  has  the  appearance  of  an  amphitheater,  and  though 
not  so  rich  in  palaces  as  Rome  or  Florence,  yet  it  presents  a 
picture  of  uncommon  beauty.  Beginning  at  the  sea-side, 
which  there  makes  one  of  its  prettiest  bends,  it  stretches  away 
backward  and  upward  in  a  range  of  magnificent  terraces. 
These  are  interspersed  everywhere  with  spires  and  noble 
domes,  and  buildings  which  in  any  other  country  would  be 
accounted  palaces,  the  whole  crowned  with  the  Castle  of  St. 
Elmo  and  Murat's  palace  of  Capo  di  Monte.  Far  away  to 
the  right  is  seen  the  Campus  Martius  of  this  soldier-king, 
an  open,  flat,  and  square  field  of  some  ten  or  twenty  acres, 
clothed  with  green,  and  contrasting  beautifully  with  the  rus- 
set of  the  surrounding  country.  Beyond  the  city,  and  far- 
ther in  front,  projects  another  promontory  rising  to  a  great 
height  and  terminating  abruptly,  opposite  to  which  is  a  round, 
upright  island  which  looks  as  if  it  had  once  belonged  to  the 
mainland  and  had  been  shaken  off  by  a  tremblement  de  terre. 
Over  and  beyond  this  again  is  seen  another  arm  of  the  bay 
(that  arm  across  which  Caracalla  threw  his  famous  bridge), 
also  St.  Paul's  landing-place,  the  lake  of  Avernus,  and  the 
Elysian  Fields.  Such  is  a  faint  sketch  of  the  outline  of  this 
beautiful  bay.  Upon  its  bosom  islands  are  negligently 
scattered  here  and  there,  breaking  the  view  seaward,  and 
lifting  their  heads  as  a  wall  of  defense  to  the  city.  This 
scene,  bathed  in  the  mild  light  of  a  setting  sun,  as  I  saw  it 
to-day,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  the  imagination  can 
picture. 

Writing  his  father  from  Pavia,  March  16,  he  says : 


^Et.  25]  NICE.  137 

The  natural  beauties  of  the  country,  particularly  for  the  eye 
of  the  farmer,  are  above  all  praise.  Works  of  art  in  every 
department  except  the  useful  abound.  They  have  enough  of 
sculpture  and  painting  here,  indeed,  to  stock  the  world  and 
feel  no  impoverishment.  Speaking  of  sculpture  reminds  me 
of  our  unfortunate  statue  of  Washington,  in  which  you  were 
so  particularly  interested.  I  have  heard  nothing  of  the  fate 
of  the  fragments  since  I  left  Raleigh.  It  is  to  be  hoped  they 
were  preserved.  If  so,  the  accident  is  of  no  consequence 
other  than  as  having  brought  the  statue  into  the  condition  of 
the  ripest  and  most  esteemed  models  of  antiquity.  The  finest 
statuary  extant  has  been  reduced  to  fragments  and  restored. 
Witness  the  Venus  de  Medici,  the  Apollo  Belvedere,  etc. 
The  general,  when  renewed,  therefore,  will  be  in  the  height 
of  fashion.  .  .  .  Mama,  I  hope,  is  comfortably  settled  down 
again  at  the  head  of  her  little  empire,  and  has  found  her 
regency  well  conducted  during  her  absence.  For  her  com-- 
fort,  I  must  tell  her  she  has  high  company  in  butter-making  in 
this  quarter,  as  my  table  was  furnished  by  the  King  of  Naples 
when  I  visited  his  dominions. 


From  Nice  he  wrote  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mcllvaine,  under 
date  of  March  27,  1832,  commending  a  poor  Italian 
woman  to  his  special  care,  and  concluding  as  follows : 

I  have  been  at  Nice  now  nearly  a  week,  and  find  the  cli- 
mate truly  delightful.  It  is  very  warm  and  dry.  If  it  has  a 
fault,  it  is  its  extreme  dryness,  interrupted  occasionally  by  a 
sharp  wester.  I  find  the  clergyman  (English)  a  devoted,  pious 
man.  There  are  two  other  English  clergymen  here,  both 
evangelical  men.  We  meet  almost  every  evening  at  the  house 
of  one  or  the  other  of  them,  and  I  have  found  these  meetings 
like  an  oasis  in  the  desert.  One  of  them  is  the  brother-in-law 
of  Frank  Noel,  brother  of  your  friend  Baptist  Noel.  Mrs. 
Sherwood,  the  authoress  (whose  catechism  Bishop  Kemper 
edited),  is  also  here.  I  have  seen  her  very  frequently.  She 
is  very  plain  and  simple  in  manner,  and  looks  not  unlike  the 


138  AN  ATTACK   OF  CHOLERA.  [1832 

pictures  we  see  of  Mrs.  Hannah  More.  We  had  a  great  deal 
of  talk  about  India,  America,  etc.  She  went  out  to  India  the 
same  year  with  Henry  Martin,  and  lived  next  door  to  him  for 
several  years.  She  tells  many  interesting  anecdotes  of  him. 
She  is  at  present  chiefly  engaged  in  publishing  a  work  on  the 
types  of  the  Scriptures.  I  saw  the  first  number,  which,  entre 
nous ,  I  thought  more  curious  than  useful.  Everybody,  though, 
is  inoculated  with  the  type  and  prophecy  mania ;  and  they 
can't  comprehend  what  we  've  been  about  in  America  that  we 
know  so  little  about  it. 

I  allowed  myself  to  be  prevailed  upon  to  preach  in  Leg- 
horn at  a  Bethel  meeting  among  the  sailors,  and  suffered 
very  much  from  it.  I  can't  make  out  my  case  at  all ;  I  look 
very  well,  and,  while  silent,  feel  so,  but  the  least  excessive 
talking  or  public  speaking  brings  me  quite  to  the  ground 
again.  I  sometimes  fear  that  I  shall  never  be  able  to  combat 
again  with  the  trials  of  our  calling ;  but,  in  any  event,  I  try 
to  feel  that  my  life  and  health  are  in  the  hands  of  God,  and 
to  be  willing  to  be  disposed  of  as  he  shall  think  best.  I  hope 
I  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  in  June  or  July. 

From  Nice  Mr.  Polk  went  to  Marseilles;  thence  to 
Toulon ;  and  thence,  by  way  of  Lyons,  he  returned  to 
Paris,  where  he  found  the  cholera  raging.  The  banker 
in  charge  of  his  funds  had  temporarily  established  him- 
self at  Brussels,  and  he  was  compelled  to  remain  in  Paris 
about  ten  days  before  he  received  a  remittance.  On  one 
of  these  days  twelve  hundred  persons  were  buried.  He 
not  only  witnessed  some  of  the  dreadful  scenes  of  the 
plague-stricken  capital,  but  personally  suffered  a  severe 
attack  of  the  disease. 

On  his  arrival  in  England  he  passed  some  time  with 
Dr.  Olynthus  Gregory  at  Woolwich,  and  during  his  stay, 
in  company  with  some  members  of  the  doctor's  family, 
visited  the  Noels,  then  members  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land.    From  Woolwich  he  went  to  London. 


ML  26]  A    COCKNEY  STAG-HUNT.  139 

To  Mrs.  Polk. 

May  30, 1832. 

This  day  I  left  London  for  Cambridge  at  ten  a.m.  Thought 
it  was  for  the  last  time,  but  find,  on  getting  to  Cambridge, 
that  it  would  be  more  interesting  to  go  through  London  to 
Oxford  than  by  the  direct  route,  so  that  I  shall  be  back 
again  in  the  midst  of  that  wonder  of  the  world.  Well,  as  the 
Americans  say,  "I  don't  quite  ignore  it,"  as  it  seems,  on  this 
side  of  the  water,  more  like  home  than  any  other  place.  Be- 
sides, I  shall  get  what  I  failed  to  take  with  me  this  morning 
—  singular  forgetfulness  in  a  traveler  — my  traveling-map  and 
road-book,  which  I  left  at  my  lodgings. 

I  am  now  in  Cambridge,  the  seat  of  science  on  this  island. 
I  have  looked  over  most  of  the  colleges,  and  found  the  famous 
chapel  of  "  King's,"  which  an  Englishman  in  Italy  charged 
me  to  see  by  all  means.  One  never  sees  the  things  one  ex- 
pects to  see,  and  this  famous  King's  has  disappointed  me. 
The  interior  certainly  is  fine;  the  roof  is  arched  over  with 
stone  carved  in  curious  fretwork,  and  the  windows  are  of 
handsome  stained  glass ;  but  it  cannot  be  compared,  in  point 
of  magnificence  of  effect,  with  the  cathedral  of  Rouen ;  yet 
few  Englishmen  can  believe  this. 

The  road  to-day  lay  through  Epping  Forest,  remarkable, 
as  far  as  I  know,  only  for  a  celebrated  stag-hunt  which  takes 
place  here,  annually  during  the  Easter  holidays,  pro  bono  pub- 
lico. The  stag,  the  hounds,  the  attendants  and  whippers-in 
are  provided  by  the  king,  and  are  put  in  motion  for  the 
amusement  of  his  loving  subjects.  To  this  hunt  flock  the 
Londoners ;  cockney  tailors,  butchers,  periwig- makers,  and  all 
the  et  ceteras  which  make  up  the  London  mob  of  humanity, 
who  can  raise  the  means  of  reaching  the  ground,  are  there, 
and  enter  into  the  sport  with  glee  becoming  to  novices.  Here  ■ 
tofore  they  have  made  out  to  get  the  poor  beast  to  start,  but 
on  the  latest  occasion,  a  month  since,  their  zeal  so  outran  the 
best  discretion  of  his  Majesty's  huntsmen  that  it  appears  they 
could  never  make  a  place  large  enough  for  the  poor  thing  to 
start  from,  so  that  what  strength  it  had  was  wearied  out  of  it 
before  it  could  get  out  of  their  circle.    The  ground  is  called 


140  ENGLISH  SCENERY.  [1832 

a  forest,  but  I  had  passed  through  it  before  I  was  tempted  to 
ask  for  it  -,  it  is  a  forest  that  has  beeu — a  forest  without  trees. 
I  was  much  struck  with  the  occasional  beauty  of  the  coun- 
try :  not  much  hill  and  dale,  yet  not  perfectly  flat.  The  cul- 
tivation around  the  country-seats  and  cottages,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  incessant  succession  of  green  fields,  formed  a  panorama 
which,  to  me,  was  quite  as  interesting  as  a  more  rugged  sur- 
face would  have  been.  I  confess  I  am  quite  charmed  with 
the  neatness  of  the  country  houses,  and  the  manner  in  which 
the  fields  are  arranged,  hedged,  and  tilled ;  and  when  I  think 
of  our  own  vast  plantations,  with  our  dirty,  careless,  thriftless 
negro  population,  I  could,  and  do,  wish  that  we  were  thor- 
oughly quit  of  them.  The  more  I  see  of  those  who  are  with- 
out slaves,  the  more  I  am  prepared  to  say  that  we  are  seriously 
wronging  ourselves  by  retaining  them, — but  I  am  in  no  mood 
for  entering  into  this  subject.  In  point  of  high  cultivation 
and  the  semblance  of  comfort,  I  have  seen  nothing  to  com- 
pare with  England.  But  I  am  not  to  write  a  book — above  all, 
a  book  of  such  trash  as  the  jottings  of  a  tired  and  half -asleep 
invalid  are  likely  to  be.     So,  dear  wife,  good-night. 

June  1. — How  time  flies !  What  a  varied  existence  have 
I  had  since  last  June!  Change  following  change.  Many 
marked  providences  have  mingled  with  them  all.  I  have 
reason  to  fear  that  they  have  not  received  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  a  grateful  heart  or  obedient  life.  I  have  nothing  to 
offer  in  excuse  but  confession  of  unworthiness  and  guilt. 
That  the  Lord  may  in  pity  forgive  and  restore  me  is  my 
most  humble  and  sincere  supplication. 

I  am  led  to  these  reflections  and  feelings  in  remembering 
that  it  was  in  this  month  just  one  year  since  that  I  took  leave 
of  my  dear  wife  and  little  one  and  set  out  on  the  journey 
which  I  as  little  thought  would  have  led  me  to  Oxford  as  it  is 
now  likely  to  lead  to  China.  But  I  trust  it  is  soon  to  termi- 
nate, and  I  shall,  I  am  sure,  feel  that  my  life  is  more  than 
ever  not  my  own,  if  I  shall  be  restored  to  my  little  all  in  safety. 

I  find  myself  much  less  fatigued  after  my  ride  than  I  an- 
ticipated.   Left  London  about  half  past  one  o'clock.     It  was 


Mt.  26]  OXFORD.  141 

raining,  but,  having  the  means  of  wrapping  up  securely,  I  felt 
no  great  inconvenience  on  the  outside  of  the  coach. 

The  approach  to  Oxford  is  very  beautiful.  The  coach  drew 
up  at  the  "  Mitre,"  and,  as  I  thought  it  might  be  the  only 
chance  I  should  ever  have  of  being  sheltered  beneath  the 
Mitre,  I  at  once  turned  in. 

Oxford,  June  3. — A  fine  day;  breakfasted  with  Dr.  Mc- 
Bride  and  family, —  viz.,  wife,  daughter,  and  maiden  sister, — 
agreeable,  talkative,  and  disposed  to  please.  I  have  already 
remarked  that  English  breakfasts  are  conducted  with  great 
ease.  The  cloth  spread  and  the  dishes  served,  the  servant 
retires  and  each  person  takes  care  of  himself.  You  are  ex- 
pected to  help  yourself  or  to  ask  for  what  you  wish,  and  trou- 
ble no  one  with :  "  Shall  I  help  you  to  an  eggV  or  M  Will  you 
take  a  piece  of  this  fowl  V  "  Do  let  me  serve  you  something 
my  way."  Now,  this  I  rather  like,  for  it  is,  in  the  first  place, 
much  more  likely  to  make  a  stranger  at  home,  and  spare 
others  and  himself  many  questions  and  answers  which  really 
break  up  the  current  of  conversation.  Besides,  it  cuts  up  by 
the  roots  an  intolerable  pest,  in  silencing  those  good  people 
who,  having  really  nothing  to  say,  put  at  you  every  five 
minutes  with  an  offer  of  service. 

In  the  afternoon  I  heard  with  much  pleasure  a  young  min- 
ister on  confirmation.  The  congregation,  as  English  congre- 
gations generally  are,  was  very  quiet  and  attentive.  Indeed, 
I  think  their  manner  while  attending  to  divine  service  more 
devotional  than  that  of  any  people  I  have  seen.  Their  re- 
sponses are  audible  and  distinct,  and  they  are,  as  far  as  I  have 
seen,  all  men,  women,  and  children  in  the  habit  of  using  the 
Prayer-book  faithfully.  Would  we  could  say  as  much  of  our 
own!  But  here  respectability  requires  that  sort  of  decent 
external  regard,  while  no  such  principle,  defective  as  it  is,  has 
force  with  us. 

After  dining  with  the  family  of  my  friend  Dr.  McBride,  we 
went  to  what  is  called  New  College  Chapel,  remarkable  for  its 
beauty,  and  particularly  for  the  effect  of  one  of  its  painted 
windows,  the  joint  work  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  and  Mr. 


142  SIXTEEN  MILES  AN  HOUR!  [1832 

Jarvis  ;  the  former  having  designed,  while  the  latter  executed 
it.  I  was  taken  to  the  chapel  that  I  might  hear,  what  is  not 
heard  elsewhere,  the  cathedral  service.  The  greater  part  of 
this  consisted  in  chants  performed  by  persons  hired  for  that 
purpose.  The  music,  certainly,  was  fine  j  but  I  can  never  be 
interested  in  a  service  which  seemed  designed  so  wholly  for 
effect,  and  which  constantly  reminded  me  of  what  I  had 
witnessed  in  that  church  from  whose  lapses  we  profess  to 
have  recovered.  I  was  in  no  wise  pleased  with  the  religious 
effects  of  the  service,  and  though  I  have  attended  church  three 
times  I  have  not  realized  the  solemnity  and  sanctity  of  this 
holy  day. 

The  following  letter  to  his  father  gives  some  further 
account  of  his  travels,  particularly  mentions  his  journey 
to  Liverpool  by  rail  and  steam,  new  things  at  that  date, 
and  a  meeting  with  Montgomery  the  poet. 

Kinoston-upon-Hull,  June  13,  1832. 
My  dear  Father :  When  I  last  wrote  you  I  thought  I  should 
have  sailed  before  this;  but,  on  getting  to  Liverpool,  and 
finding  I  could,  by  adding  only  a  month  to  my  absence,  see 
the  most  interesting  parts  of  Scotland  and  Ireland,  I  had  but 
little  difficulty  in  yielding  to  the  temptation  of  further  delay. 
I  have  deferred  sailing,  therefore,  until  the  8th  of  the  next 
month,  by  which  time  I  shall  have  accomplished  my  wish,  and 
will  sail  when  a  first-class  packet  with  ample  accommodations 
and  a  civil  captain  puts  out  for  New  York.  I  have  seen  all 
the  ships  which  leave  between  this  time  and  that  date.  They 
seem  small  and  incommodious.  Through  a  letter  to  Mary 
from  Manchester,  you  will  have  learned  that  on  my  route 
from  London  I  visited  Cambridge,  Oxford,  and  Birmingham. 
From  Manchester  my  route  to  Liverpool  was,  of  course,  by 
the  railway.  The  distance  is  thirty-two  miles,  and  we  accom- 
plished it  in  less  than  two  hours.  This  is  the  ordinary  time 
now ;  but  the  carriages  have  passed  in  fifty  minutes,  I  think. 
On  my  return  from  Liverpool  to  Manchester,  we  were  forty 
minutes  on  the  west  half  of  the  road,  which  is  at  the  rate  of 


Mt,  26]  SHEFFIELD   CUTLERY.  143 

twenty- six  miles  an  hour.  •  It  is  a  magnificent  work,  and  from 
the  fact  that  the  stock  is  ninety  per  cent,  above  par,  you  will 
see  that  it  quite  succeeds.  At  Liverpool  the  passengers  alight 
in  the  suburbs  of  the  city.  Goods,  etc.,  intended  for  shipping 
pass  by  a  tunnel  under  the  town  to  the  docks.  This  tunnel 
is  upward  of  a  mile  in  length.  The  carriages,  which  are  built 
long,  and  are  very  convenient,  hold  about  twelve  to  twenty- 
four  persons,  and  are  strung  together  sometimes  so  as  to  make 
a  train  of  two  hundred  yards  in  length.  To  stand  at  a  distance 
and  see  this  monster  first  begin  to  crawl  off,  and  then,  hissing 
and  puffing,  increase  its  speed  until  it  attains  a  swiftness 
almost  equal  to  that  with  which  the  swallow  skims  the  earth, 
makes  one  feel  lost  in  amazement.  We  involuntarily  say  with 
the  simple  countryman :  "  This  beats  all ! "  Indeed,  higher 
eulogium  could  not  well  be  bestowed  at  such  a  moment  j  for 
we  are  at  a  loss  for  language  sufficiently  strong  to  express  the 
astonishment — the  admiration — it  excites.  After  seeing  this, 
we  cannot  but  wish  the  heartiest  success  to  similar  undertak- 
ings in  our  own  country.  From  Manchester  I  went  to  Shef- 
field, remarkable  for  its  manufactories  of  plated  ware  and 
cutlery.  This  is  where  our  knives,  forks,  candlesticks,  etc., 
come  from.  I  was  much  interested  in  looking  over  the  estab- 
lishment of  several  of  the  factories.  At  Rodgers's,  famous  for 
the  excellence  of  his  blades  of  all  kinds,  I  purchased  for  you 
a  pair  of  what  he  assured  me  were  his  first-rate  razors.  I 
hope  you  may  find  them  as  good  as  he  represents.  Sheffield, 
you  may  remember,  is  the  place  from  which  our  townspeople, 
Mr.1  and  Mrs.  Gales,  came.  Through  their  kindness  I  was 
favored  with  an  introduction  to  the  poet  Montgomery,  once  a 
member  of  their  family,  and  Mr.  Gales's  successor  to  the  edi- 
torship of  their  paper.  He  has  since  retired  and  is  living  with 
two  of  Mr.  Gales's  sisters.  I  have  met  with  few  persons  who 
have  more  interested  me  than  this  excellent  man.  His  charac- 
ter as  a  literary  man  of  course  is  well  known.  I  spent  the 
greater  part  of  three  days  with  him,  and  for  the  pleasure  I 
have  received  I  feel  that  Mrs.  Gales  has  placed  me  under  an 

1  Mr.  Gales,  subsequently  the  editor  of  the  National  Intelligencer  at 
Washington. 


144  SCOTLAND  AND  IRELAND.  [1832 

obligation  I  shall  not  soon  forget.  The  object  of  my  visit 
here  is  to  see  the  eldest  and  most  distinguished  of  the  sons  of 
Thomas  Scott,  the  commentator.  The  town  in  itself  has  little 
to  interest,  and  I  shall  go  this  afternoon  to  York.  From  York 
my  route  will  be  through  Durham,  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  etc., 
to  Edinburgh  j  thence,  by  Perth,  Inverness,  the  Caledonia 
Canal,  and  the  Clyde,  to  Glasgow;  from  Glasgow  into  Ire- 
land, either  at  Londonderry  or  Belfast ;  thence  by  the  Giant's 
Causeway  to  Dublin,  and  across,  by  Holyhead  and  Chester, 
to  Liverpool.  The  rapidity  and  facilities  of  traveling  in  this 
country  will  enable  me  to  accomplish  this  in  the  time  speci- 
fied, with  ease.  Hoping  that  the  jaunt  may  prove  pleasant, 
and  with  my  best  love  to  mother  and  the  family,  I  remaiD 
truly,  Your  affectionate  son, 

L.  Polk. 


LEONIDAS     POLK,    1839 


MISSIONARY      BISHOP    OF    THE     SOUTHWEST 


CHAPTER  IV. 

PARISH   WORK  AND  MISSIONARY  EPISCOPATE. 
1832  to  1841. 

Return  to  America. — Decides  to  adopt  farming. — Consecration  of  Dr. 
Mcllvaine  as  Bishop  of  Ohio. — Leaves  for  Tennessee. —  "Rattle  and 
Snap." — Brick-making  and  building. —  Death  of  Colonel  Polk. —  A  wo- 
man railroad-promoter. —  The  Experimental  Railway. — Leonidas  Polk's 
interest  in  railways. — How  the  railway  should  preserve  the  American 
Union.— The  cholera. —  The  Columbia  Institute. — Failing  health. — 
Travels  in  Kentucky. —  Miller  and  manufacturer. —  Devotion  to  duty. — 
Consecration  as  Missionary  Bishop  of  the  Southwest. — Bishop  Mc- 
Ilvaine's  consecration  sermon. —  Missionary  travels.  —  Nautical  astron- 
omy and  religion.  — A  practical  bishop.—  Divine  service  under  difficulties. 
— A  providential  escape.  —  Second  missionary  journey. —  Extent  and 
character  of  the  missionary  diocese. —  Views  on  celibacy  of  the  clergy. — 
Assistance  from  Bishop  Otey. —  The  episcopacy  in  Texas. — Third  mis- 
sionary journey.  —  Thoughts  on  the  New  Year.—  Letters  to  his  mother. 
—  Incidents  and  adventures  of  travel. —  Sunday  in  Louisiana. —  Horse- 
thieves  in  the  Indian  Territory. — Chief  Ross's  pardonable  suspicions. — 
Francis  Strother  Lyon. — Bluff  Hall. — St.  John's  Chapel. — Slave- 
holders and  slaves. — Appointed  Bishop  of  Louisiana. 

Mr.  Polk's  travels  had  so  improved  his  health  that 
he  returned  to  America,  at  the  age  of  twenty-six,  com- 
paratively robust  in  body  and  cheerful  in  spirit;  but 
his  physician  still  recommended  him  to  be  as  much  as 
possible  in  the  open  air.  The  winter  of  1832-33  was 
passed  in  Raleigh,  sometimes  at  his  father's  house,  and 
sometimes  at  the  house  of  his  wife's  father,  Mr.  Dev- 
ereux.  It  was  during  this  winter  that  he  resolved  to 
live  upon  a  farm  until  his  health  should  be  sufficiently 
re-established  for  him  to  return  to  his  clerical  duties. 

145 


]46  REMOVES  TO   TENNESSEE.  [1833 

His  father  offered  to  give  him  a  place  in  Tennessee,  and 
Mr.  Devereux  offered  him  negroes  to  cultivate  it.  Be- 
lieving that  the  climate  of  Tennessee  would  agree  with 
him,  he  accepted  these  offers,  and  prepared  to  remove  to 
his  new  home.  Before  his  departure,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mc- 
Ilvaine  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Ohio,  and  on  that  oc- 
casion Mr.  Polk  addressed  to  him  the  following  letter : 

Raleigh,  December  10,  1832. 

My  dear  Brother :  Since  receiving  intelligence  of  the  termi- 
nation of  the  Ohio  episcopacy,  I  have  been  absent  from  town 
and  have  not  had  an  opportunity  of  expressing  my  cordial 
satisfaction  in  finding  you  invested  with  the  authority  and 
enlarged  opportunities  of  usefulness  attached  to  that  office. 

It  would  give  me  great  pleasure,  I  assure  you,  to  occupy 
some  one  of  the  many  outposts  of  your  widely  extended  ter- 
ritory, and  to  be  occasionally  refreshed  with  your  presence ; 
but,  as  far  as  I  see,  my  path  lies  in  a  different  direction.  What 
was  only  probable  when  I  saw  you  in  Brooklyn  is  now  cer- 
tain— that  I  am  to  take  up  my  residence  in  Tennessee.  My 
life,  I  trust,  shall  not  be  lost,  and  in  your  great  valley  I  shall 
at  least  have  opportunity  of  usefulness.  We  propose  to  go 
out  in  the  spring,  and  I  shall  settle  near  my  brother,  about 
fifty  miles  to  the  south  of  Nashville.  I  do  not  despair  of 
seeing  you  one  day  in  the  midst  of  your  diocese  j  when,  must 
be  left  to  the  decision  of  the  future.  You  have  become  an 
author.  What  would  you  think  of  putting  forth  a  small 
manual  for  family  devotion?  I  do  not  find  anything  that 
seems  to  answer  fully  the  purpose.  I  shall  not  leave  until 
April.    Mrs.  Polk  joins  me  in  much  love. 

Very  truly  yours  in  Christ, 

Leonidas  Polk. 

In  April,  1833,  he  set  out  for  Tennessee,  and  on  the 
15th  of  May  reached  his  brother  Lucius's  residence  in 
Maury  County.  The  journey  was  long  and  difficult, 
owing  to  the  serious  illness  of  his  wife.     His  father 


Mt.  27]     BRICK-MAKING  AND  BUILDING.  147 

owned  a  tract  of  five  thousand  acres  of  land,  known  as 
"  Rattle  and  Snap/'  which  was  divided  between  his  four 
sons,  Lucius,  Leonidas,  Rufus,  and  George;  but  the 
land  assigned  to  Leonidas  had  been  leased,  so  that  he 
could  not  take  possession  of  it  until  1834.  He  therefore 
remained  with  his  family  at  his  brother's  home,  prepar- 
ing, with  the  aid  of  his  father,  to  build  a  dwelling.  In 
the  following  extract  from  a  letter  to  his  mother  he  gives 
some  account  of  his  occupation  while  preparing  to  take 
possession  of  his  estate : 

Hamilton  Place,  August  17,  1833. 
My  dear  Mother :  I  confess  I  have  been  quite  remiss  as  a 
correspondent,  and  I  am  unwilling  to  excuse  myself  on  the 
score  of  being  very  full  of  employment.  But  the  truth  is,  I 
am  very  full  of  employment,  and  I  find  that  to  look  after 
one's  farm,  and  superintend  all  the  various  arrangements 
necessary  to  building,  is  no  small  task ;  but  I  came  out  here 
for  an  active  life,  and  it  is  well  I  am  not  disappointed.  I 
am  very  busy  making  brick,  and  will  make  them  as  they  are 
required.  I  now  see  that,  if  I  had  managed  rightly,  I  could 
have  had  my  house  up  this  fall.  But  my  plan  is  to  get  every- 
thing ready  and  on  the  spot  to  begin  operations  as  soon  as 
the  spring  shall  open.  The  house  will  go  up  in  good  time, 
and  I  hope  without  much  trouble  or  expense.  I  have  suc- 
ceeded in  buying  out  the  Fleming  lease  on  favorable  terms. 
There  is  as  much  open  land  in  the  place  as  I  shall  be  able 
to  cultivate  for  some  time,  and  as  there  is  a  very  snug,  close- 
built  log  house  with  four  rooms,  closet,  etc.,  built  somewhat 
on  the  plan  of  the  house  at  Will's  Grove,  we  shall  take  up 
our  quarters  there,  notwithstanding  the  kind  and  affectionate 
reception  of  our  brother  and  sister,  and  our  present  comfort- 
able rooms  in  their  dwelling.  .  .  . 

Early  in  1834  Colonel  William  Polk  died  in  Raleigh, 
at  a  good  old  age,  honored  by  all  men,  and  lamented  by 
all  who  knew  him.      Though  his  death  at  the  age  of 


148  DEATH  OF  COLONEL  POLK.  [1834 

nearly  fourscore  could  not  be  unexpected,  it  was  a  heavy 
shock  to  his  family,  by  whom  he  was  both  venerated 
and  beloved,  and  particularly  to  Leonidas,  to  whom  for 
years  past  his  relations  had  been  peculiarly  tender.  The 
following  letter  was  written  by  Leonidas  to  his  mother 
shortly  after  receiving  intelligence  of  his  father's  death : 

Hamilton  Place,  February  12,  1834. 
My  dear  Mother:  We  have  now  been  a  week  in  the  receipt 
of  the  news  of  our  dear  father's  death,  and  indeed  I  have 
been  unable  until  now  to  muster  resolution  to  acknowledge 
it.  Ah,  how  deep  a  pang  has  it  inflicted  on  us !  Our  dear, 
dear  father!  I  cannot  realize  the  truth  of  this  sad  intelli- 
gence. I  have  been  assured,  but  cannot  feel  that  he  is  no 
more.  But  it  is  and  must  be  so,  and  how  impressive  a  lesson 
has  it  read  to  us  all.  If  there  had  been  any  among  men  who 
could  have  withstood  the  assaults  of  our  last  enemy,  surely 
one  combining  such  vigor  of  constitution  with  such  energy 
of  mind  would  have  been  among  the  number.  But  excep- 
tions there  are  none.  '  We  are  all  frail  and  crumbling  dust, 
at  least  as  to  the  body.  But  we  are  not  left  comfortless  or 
without  hope.  Few  deaths  have  apparently  transpired  with 
so  little  acute  pain  or  suffering,  or  with  more  composure. 
He  seems  to  have  expired  like  a  candle.  This  of  itself  has 
been  a  great  consolation,  as  it  is  so  unlike  the  end  I  antici- 
pated. God  in  that  was  indeed  merciful,  and  may  we  not 
hope  still  further?  The  characteristics  of  his  illness  seem 
to  have  been  wholly  different  from  those  of  former  days, 
but  little  or  nothing  of  that  restless  impatience  which  was 
usual.  His  solicitude  for  the  comfort  of  those  about  him,  his 
freedom  from  complaint,  and  apparent  resignation,  must 
indeed  have  afforded  grounds  of  consoling  hope  to  you,  as 
they  have  to  me.  I  have  observed  a  marked  and  growing 
change  in  my  father's  character  for  some  time  past,  and 
doubtless  it  has  not  been  unobserved  by  you.  It  was  not  to 
be  expected  that  any  very  sudden  or  complete  revolution  of 
feeling  and  character  would  occur  in  the  case  of  one  bred 


Mt.2T]     THE  EXPERIMENTAL  RAILWAY.  149 

in  the  times  and  scenes  which  have  marked  his  life.  There 
was  a  natural  severity  of  character  and  high  tone  and  bearing 
which  would  very  likely  attend  him  to  the  end,  and  any,  the 
least  evidence,  of  an  humbled  and  subdued  spirit,  such  as 
was  evinced,  was  much  more  than  I  had  anticipated.  With 
God,  who  was  the  author  of  the  qualities  which  distinguished 
him,  and  who  has  ever  vouchsafed  mercy  to  the  humble  and 
penitent,  we  may  confidently  leave  him  j  and,  my  dear  mother, 
may  we  not  all,  with  this,  add  a  sincere  petition  that  the 
warning  may  not  be  lost,  and  that  this  affliction  may  prove 
the  source  of  God's  richest  blessing  unto  us  who  are  left? 
We  commend  ourselves  unto  him. 


It  is  a  curious  fact  that  Mr.  Polk's  mother  was  one  of 
the  earliest  promoters  of  railway  enterprise  in  this  coun- 
try. She  had  in  fact  projected  the  first  line  of  railway 
in  North  Carolina.  True,  it  was  only  a  cheap  strap-iron 
tramway,  costing  $2250  per  mile,  and  running  from  the 
east  portico  of  the  capitol  at  Raleigh  to  a  stone  quarry, 
but  it  was  the  precursor  of  greater  things,  and  it  was 
significantly  called  "  The  Experimental  Railway."  When 
it  was  finished  in  1833,  a  handsome  passenger  car  was 
put  upon  the  track  "for  the  accommodation,"  as  the 
directors  announced,  "of  such  ladies  and  gentlemen  as 
desired  to  take  the  exercise  of  a  railroad  airing."  Crowds 
of  people  flocked  from  the  adjacent  counties  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  privilege ;  and  it  is  recorded  that  no 
accidents  occurred,  the  directors  having  prudently  pro- 
vided as  the  motive  power  of  the  train  a  safe  old  horse 
that  was  warranted  not  to  run  away !  Mrs.  Polk  was 
not  only  the  projector  of  the  Experimental  Railway; 
she  was  also  one  of  the  principal  stockholders,  and  the 
soundness  of  her  judgment  was  amply  vindicated  when 
the  profits  of  the  enterprise  were  found  to  amount 
to  three  hundred  per  cent,  of  the  original  investment 


150  POLITICAL    VALUE   OF  RAILWAYS.       [1834 

When  the  success  of  the  Experimental  Railway  had  led 
to  the  successful  inauguration  of  other  railway  enter- 
prises of  greater  magnitude,  Mrs.  Polk  was  not  forgotten ; 
and  at  a  banquet  given  in  honor  of  the  first  train  drawn 
by  steam  power  into  Raleigh,  a  special  toast  was  drunk 
"  To  the  distinguished  lady  who  suggested  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Experimental  Railway ;  she  well  deserves  a 
name  among  the  benefactors  of  the  State." 

In  his  extended  journeys  in  different  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, Leonidas  Polk  had  foreseen  the  important  function 
which  railways  were  destined  to  fill  in  the  future  devel- 
opment of  the  country ;  and  he  had  foreseen  that  they 
would  have  an  effect  on  politics  and  society  not  less  than 
on  commerce  and  manufactures.  In  a  conversation  with 
an  old  West  Point  friend  in  1832  or  1833  on  the  physical 
formation  of  the  country,  the  rapid  increase  of  its  popu- 
lation, and  the  danger  to  the  Union  which  might  arise 
from  a  conflict  of  interests  between  different  sections, 
Mr.  Polk  observed  that  the  true  preventive  of  such  a 
calamity  would  be  found  in  the  creation  of  a  complete 
railway  system  which  would  so  unite  all  parts  of  the 
country  in  the  bonds  of  a  common  interest  as  to  make  a 
disintegration  of  the  Union  difficult,  if  not  impossible. 
But  he  was  not  content  to  perceive  the  utility  of  rail- 
ways and  to  point  it  out  to  others.  Like  his  mother,  he 
became  an  earnest  promoter  of  railway  enterprises,  and 
in  a  letter  written  to  her  in  July,  1834,  he  first  describes 
a  visit  made  to  Nashville  with  his  wife — "the  best  wife, 
though  I  say  it,  in  this  or  any  other  country" — then 
refers  to  an  address  which  he  had  drafted  for  a  com- 
mittee on  railways,  and  of  which  the  committee  had 
distributed  five  thousand  copies  throughout  the  State  of 
Tennessee. 

The  latter  part  of  1834  was  a  time  of  much  anxiety. 


Mt.  28]         AN  EPIDEMIC  OF  CHOLERA.  151 

The  cholera,  which  had  spread  terror  through  the  coun- 
try in  1831  and  1832,  made  its  appearance  on  Mr.  Polk's 
plantation.  Before  September  thirty-five  cases  had 
appeared,  but  only  one  proved  fatal,  and  he  believed 
that,  had  he  been  called  in  time,  even  that  single  death 
might  have  been  prevented.  He  was  with  his  people 
night  and  day,  rendering  them  every  necessary  service, 
and  it  was  doubtless  owing  to  his  incessant  vigilance  and 
prompt  use  of  the  proper  remedies  that  the  mortality 
among  them  was  so  slight.  A  characteristic  incident  of 
the  year  was  his  care  of  a  distant  but  impoverished  kins- 
man, of  whom  he  wrote  to  his  mother  as  follows : 

I  have  now  with  me  old  Charley  Alexander,  a  full  cousin 
of  my  father.  He  lives  about  fifteen  miles  from  this,  on  Swan 
Creek  j  and  having  made  several  ineffectual  attempts  to  see 
James  Polk1  about  a  pension  (he  is  very  poor),  I  made  an 
appointment  for  James  at  my  house,  and  sent  down  one  of 
my  boys  and  a  horse,  and  had  him  brought  up  last  night. 
James  came  to-day  and  saw  him,  made  out  all  his  papers, 
and  thinks  he  can  easily  secure  the  old  man  his  pension,  $80 
per  year  since  1831,  at  which  time  the  law  in  favor  of  militia 
applicants  was  passed.  He  is  a  very  respectable  old  man, 
and  has  evidently  a  family  likeness.  He  is  now  about  eighty, 
and  is  blind.  He  has  given  me  many  interesting  details  in 
regard  to  our  family  history. 

In  the  autumn  of  1834  he  went  with  Mrs.  Polk  to 
Raleigh  to  be  with  his  sister,  Mrs.  Badger,  with  whom 
he  remained  until  her  death  in  the  following  spring.  On 
returning  to  his  parish  he  consented,  while  continuing 
his  farming  operations,  to  take  charge  of  the  parish  in 
Columbia  as  well,  and  soon  raised  sufficient  funds  to  en- 
able Bishop  Otey  to  establish  a  Church  school  for  girls, 
which  was  incorporated  under  the  name  of  the  "  Colum- 

l  James  K.  Polk,  afterward  President. 


152  PLANTER  AND   CLERGYMAN.  [1835 

bia  Institute7'  and  was  opened  in  the  autumn  of  the  same 
year.1  He  was  now  thoroughly  employed  and  deeply 
interested  in  his  work.  His  building  and  farming  oper- 
ations ;  the  Columbia  parish  under  his  sole  charge ;  the 
girls'  school,  of  which  he  was  a  trustee ;  his  young  fam- 
ily, to  which  a  daughter  was  now  added ;  and  the  care 
and  direction  of  his  negroes — gave  him  abundant  and 
varied  occupation ;  but  he  was  soon  compelled  to  retire 
from  active  work.  His  health  again  failed  him,  and 
his  physicians  recommended  him  to  give  up  all  active 
duties  for  a  time,  and  he  passed  the  summer  in  travel- 
ing through  Kentucky.  On  his  return  he  resigned  his 
parish,  but  resumed  his  other  duties  with  his  usual  en- 
ergy, erecting  on  his  estate  a  steam  flouring-mill,  and  con- 
necting with  it  the  machinery  required  in  the  manufact- 
ure of  bagging.  On  Sundays  he  officiated  regularly  to 
a  congregation  consisting  of  his  own  and  his  brothers' 
families  and  their  servants.  The  year  which  followed 
was  perhaps  the  happiest  of  his  life.  His  health  was 
restored;  his  affairs  were  prosperous;  his  occupations 
were  congenial ;  his  family  life  was  as  nearly  perfect  as 
anything  on  this  earth  can  be ;  on  the  horizon  of  the 
future  no  lightest  cloud  of  threatening  marred  his  pros- 
pects. But  the  clouds  were  soon  to  gather.  Money 
losses  fell  upon  him  through  the  fault  of  others,  and,  for 
the  first  time  in  his  life,  he  found  himself  embarrassed. 
It  was  while  struggling  with  this  unforeseen  trouble, 
and  while  preparing  to  meet  the  harder  struggle  which 
it  would  entail,  that  he  was  suddenly  and  unexpectedly 
called  by  the  Church  to  the  responsible  amd  laborious 

i  In  1865,  at  the  close  of  the  civil  war,  Mrs.  Polk,  in  common  with  so 
many  others  in  the  Southern  States,  found  herself  without  means  of 
support.  She  accepted  the  position  of  teacher  of  English  literature  in 
this  institution,  and  remained  there  until  the  establishment  of  her  own 
school  in  New  Orleans,  Louisiana. 


Mi.  32]        A   SOLDIER   OF  THE   CHURCH.  153 

position  of  Missionary  Bishop  of  the  vast  region  then 
known  as  the  Southwest.  He  did  not  shrink,  though  he 
might  well  have  done  so,  from  the  new  and  heavy  labor 
which  was  laid  upon  him.  He  accepted  it  as  providen- 
tial; and  from  any  providential  duty  Leonidas  Polk 
could  not  shrink.  In  taking  orders  he  felt  that  he  had 
enlisted  in  the  army  of  the  Church,  and  he  was  bound 
to  obey  orders  to  the  utmost  of  his  strength,  without 
regard  to  personal  considerations.  In  a  narrative  pre- 
pared by  Mrs.  Polk  for  the  perusal  of  her  children,  there 
occurs  the  following  touching  passage : 

This  winter  [1836-37]  was  a  happy  one — indeed,  all  our  life 
was  happy;  but  I  enjoyed  more  of  my  husband's  society  then 
than  at  any  other  period.  We  lived  in  a  little  cabin;  our 
two  children  were  hearty,  and  in  my  dear  brother  Lucius  and 
his  admirable  wife  we  had  congenial  friends.  More  than  all, 
my  husband  had  leisure  to  be  with  me,  and  the  evenings  were 
spent  in  reading. 

How  happily  the  days 

Of  Thalaba  went  by ! 

I  knew  I  was  happy ;  I  enjoyed  it,  and  often  said,  God  gave 
us  this  to  prepare  for  the  storms  which  must  come. 

In  the  summer  of  1837  our  house  was  completed.  As  soon 
as  we  were  in  it,  my  husband  began  holding  services  for  the 
negroes  every  Sunday,  and  devoted  himself  to  them.  The 
sick  were  objects  of  his  special  attention.  The  following  win- 
ter pecuniary  troubles  began  to  annoy  my  dear  husband.  A 
firm  for  which  he  had  become  surety  failed,  and  he  was  in- 
volved to  the  amount  of  $30,000;  but  he  did  not  permit 
pecuniary  troubles  to  interfere  with  the  happiness  of  his 
home. 

The  following  summer  passed  very  pleasantly  with  our 
dear  mother  [Mrs.  Polk],  my  sister,  Susan  Polk,  Rufus  and 
George.  Now  came  what  was  one  of  the  greatest  trials  of 
my  life.     I  was  called  to  give  up  my  dear  husband  from 


154  CONSECRATION.  [1838 

his  home.  The  General  Convention  met  in  the  fall  of  1838, 
and  appointed  him  missionary  bishop  of  the  Southwest — a 
vast  field,  embracing  Arkansas,  Indian  Territory,  Mississippi, 
Louisiana,  and  Alabama.  Home  and  all  its  endearments 
must  be  given  up,  and  I  must  be  left  alone  to  bring  up  my 
children.  Thank  God,  I  did  not  hesitate  or  by  any  word  in- 
fluence his  decision.  I  told  him  he  was  God's  servant  and 
soldier,  and  I  had  not  even  the  right  to  have  an  opinion. 
There  was  no  struggle  in  his  mind;  he  never  felt  anything 
hard  he  was  called  upon  to  do  for  God,  who  had  done  so 
much  for  him;  and  though  the  acceptance  of  the  office  in- 
volved loss  of  property  and  separation  from  wife  and  children 
for  months  at  a  time,  he  did  not  hesitate.  Mrs.  Polk  [his 
mother]  remained  with  us  until  winter,  and  went  with  us  as 
far  as  Cincinnati,  where,  on  December  9, 1838,  he  was  conse- 
crated,— Bishops  Smith,  Meade,  Otey,  and  Mcllvaine  being 
the  consecrators.  .  .  . 

The  preacher  at  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Polk  was 
Bishop  Mcllvaine,  and,  after  telling  the  story  of  the 
conversion  of  Cadet  Polk,  he  concluded  as  follows : 

The  singular  and  very  prominent  evidence  of  the  hand  of 
God  in  this  case  was  greatly  blessed  to  others.  By  and  by 
he  professed  Christ  in  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  which  was 
administered  to  him,  with  another  recently  turned  to  the 
Lord,  in  the  chapel  of  the  Military  Academy,  and  in  the 
presence  of  all  the  corps.  After  graduating  at  the  institution 
and  leaving  the  army,  he  passed  through  a  regular  course  of 
study  for  the  holy  ministry,  and  was  successively  ordained 
deacon  and  presbyter.  Many  years  have  elapsed.  The  chap- 
lain has  since  been  called  to  a  higher  order  in  the  ministry 
and  more  enlarged  responsibilities  in  the  Church.  The  cadet, 
meanwhile,  after  many  vicissitudes  of  active  duty  and  of  dis- 
abling ill-health,  supposed  he  had  settled  himself  for  the  rest 
of  his  life  as  preacher  and  pastor  to  a  humble  and  obscure 
congregation  of  negroes,  whom  he  had  collected  together 
from  neighboring  plantations;  to  whom,  living  entirely  upon 


Mt.  32]     A    WORTHY  STANDARD-BEARER.  155 

his  own  pecuniary  means,  he  appropriated  a  part  of  his  own 
house  for  a  church  j  and  to  whose  eternal  interests  he  had 
chosen  cheerfully  and  happily  to  devote  himself  as  their  spir- 
itual father,  with  no  emolument  but  their  salvation.  But  such 
was  just  the  spirit  for  the  highest  of  all  vocations  in  the 
Church.  To  be  a  servant  of  servants  is  the  very  school  in 
which  to  prepare  for  the  chief  ministry  under  Him  who  took 
on  Him  the  form  of  a  servant.  The  Church  needed  a  mission- 
ary bishop  for  a  vast  field,  for  great  self-denial,  for  untiring 
patience,  for  courageous  enterprise.  Her  eye  was  directed 
to  the  self-appointed  pastor  of  that  humble  congregation. 
With  most  impressive  unanimity  did  she  call  him  away  to  a 
work  not  indeed  of  more  dignified  duty,  but  of  more  eminent 
responsibility ;  not  indeed  of  more  exquisite  satisfaction  to  a 
Christian's  heart  (for  what  can  give  a  Christian's  heart  more 
satisfaction  than  to  lead  such  of  the  poor  to  Christ?),  but  of 
severer  trials  and  vastly  greater  difficulties  and  hardships. 
Counting  the  cost,  he  has  not  dared  to  decline  it.  Regarding 
the  call  as  of  God,  he  has  embraced  the  promised  grace,  and 
is  now  ready  to  be  offered.  Thus  the  chaplain  has  here  met 
the  beloved  cadet  again,  seeing  and  adoring  the  end  of  the 
Lord  in  that  remarkable  beginning.  And  now,  with  unspeak- 
able thankfulness  to  God  for  what  he  here  witnesses,  may  he 
say  to  this  candidate-elect  for  labor  and  sacrifice,  in  the  words 
of  St.  Paul  to  his  beloved  disciple :  "  Thou,  therefore,  my  son, 
be  strong  in  the  grace  that  is  in  Jesus  Christ.  Endure  hard- 
ness as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ.  And  the  things  thou 
hast  heard  of  me  among  many  witnesses,  the  same  commit 
thou  to  faithful  men,  who  shall  be  able  to  teach  others  also." 

In  the  consecration  of  Leonidas  Polk  to  the  episcopate, 
the  American  Church  felt  that  it  had  canse  of  encour- 
agement. With  an  honored  and  historic  name,  with  a 
bearing  which  impressed  all  who  met  him,  with  a  court- 
esy which  won  all  hearts,  with  a  courage  which  shunned 
no  danger,  with  a  devotion  which  shrank  from  no  sacri- 
fice, he  was  a  standard-bearer  worthy  of  her  cause.     It 


156  A    UNITED  FAMILY.  [1839 

was  in  his  home  that  loss  was  felt,  and  the  loss  there 
was  irreparable.  But,  though  it  was  always  felt,  it  was 
borne  in  silence.  The  noble  woman  whom  he  had  loved 
from  childhood,  and  whom  he  proudly  called  "  the  best 
wife  in  this  or  any  other  country,"  was  as  noble  as  him- 
self.  Thenceforward,  though  she  felt  that  he  belonged 
less  to  her  than  to  the  Church,  and  though  she  sighed 
for  the  old  days  when  he  had  been  all  her  own,  she  did 
not  murmur,  but  strengthened  and  stood  by  him  as  a 
helpmeet  in  the  harder  life  on  which  he  had  entered. 

In  entering  on  his  missionary  work  Bishop  Polk  was 
obliged  to  leave  his  affairs  —  already  somewhat  embar- 
rassed as  they  were — to  the  management  of  his  brothers, 
and  he  foresaw  that  in  consequence  of  the  way  in  which 
their  business  was  conducted  a  serious  crisis  might  occur 
at  no  distant  time.  The  Polks  were  men  of  energy  and 
enterprise,  ready  to  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages 
of  the  new  country  in  which  they  had  settled.  Their 
estates  were  contiguous,  and  in  any  affair  in  which  any 
one  of  them  might  engage  he  counted,  without  asking, 
on  the  support  and  assistance  of  the  rest.  In  their 
financial  arrangements  each  of  them  was  the  indorser 
of  the  others ;  and  the  abundant  credit  which  they  thus 
enjoyed  was  a  constant  temptation  to  engage  in  enter- 
prises which  were  beyond  their  means.  Besides,  as  the 
experience  of  the  bishop  had  already  proved,  it  was 
only  too  possible  for  one  of  them  to  make  heavy  losses 
through  other  parties  and  so  to  involve  his  brothers. 
For  the  moment  there  was  little  to  be  done  but  to  make 
such  arrangements  as  were  possible,  and,  having  done 
so,  the  bishop  set  out  on  his  first  visitation  in  the  month 
of  January,  1839. 

His  jurisdiction  was  enormous,  extending  over  the 
States  of  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  the 


JEt.  33]     FIRST  EPISCOPAL  VISITATION.  157 

Indian  Territory  and  the  republic  of  Texas;  and  truly 
it  was  a  land  of  contrasts.  There  was  an  interesting 
background  of  historical  fact  and  tradition,  to  pretty 
much  all  of  it,  particularly  bordering  on  the  Gulf,  on 
the  Mississippi  River,  and  its  lower  tributaries.  New 
Orleans  was  the  western  center,  Mobile  the  eastern. 
French,  then  Spanish  and  English,  and  finally  our  own 
American  ideas  and  types  of  civilization  had  alternately 
prevailed,  so  that  there  was  an  Anglo-Latin  atmosphere 
which,  along  with  the  steady  increase  of  large  land 
holders  with  their  negroes,  produced  a  population  un- 
like any  other  in  the  United  States. 

In  spite  of  financial  depression  the  country  was  pros- 
perous, especially  in  lower  Louisiana  and  along  the 
Mississippi  River.  All  Alabama  contiguous  to  its  navi- 
gable rivers  was  well  advanced  in  the  development  of 
its  riches,  and  Texas  emerging  from  her  struggles  was 
rapidly  expanding,  the  whole  country  responding  to  the 
push  and  energy  of  its  strenuous  population.  The 
leaders  among  these  were  younger  sons  and  daughters, 
of  the  older  civilization  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  who 
brought  with  them  the  culture,  education  and  refine- 
ment of  their  several  states — consequently  the  spectacle 
was  often  presented  of  centers  of  cultured  civilization 
comparatively  isolated.  This  was  especially  evident  on 
the  larger  rivers  and  their  tributaries,  where  there  was 
a  service  of  well  equipped  and  commodious  steamers, 
many  of  them  truly  luxurious  —  the  exceptions  in  that 
day  were  found  in  Arkansas,  Indian  Territory,  Texas  and 
North  Louisiana.  Hardships  were  to  be  met  wherever 
one  left  the  line  of  water  transportation,  but  healthy, 
robust  people  expected  such  things  in  those  regions  and 
were  prepared  for  them.  The  leading  purpose  of  such  a 
population  in  such  a  promising  country  was  naturally 


158  CHARACTER  OF  THE  POPULATION.       [1839 

wealth,  and  after  that,  what  wealth  brought,  some  elect- 
ing as  they  advanced  to  develop  plans  as  to  education 
and  culture,  especially  if  their  residence  was  to  be  per- 
manent. This  description  refers  but  little  to  the  French 
population  of  South  Louisiana,  which  had  a  society  of  its 
own,  that  for  a  long  time  had  maintained  itself  on  the  best 
lines  of  social  and  educational  excellence,  Paris  in  these 
matters  being  its  mistress,  and  the  religion  of  the  mother 
country  its  own.  The  bulk  of  people  developing  this 
region  being  under  fifty  years  of  age,  they  manifested 
in  many  things  the  exuberance  of  youth;  plenty  of  ad- 
venture, civil  and  military,  was  at  hand,  the  latter  the 
offspring  of  the  smoldering  conflicts  between  Texas  and 
Mexico,  and  that  steadily  maintained  with  the  Apache, 
Commanche  and  other  Indians  farther  west.  Gamblers 
with  their  human  accessories  were  abundant,  lawlessness 
was  ever  near  the  surface,  and  the  old  "Natchez  Trace," 
"Natchez  under  the  Hill,"  and  some  reminders  of  John 
Murrel  were  yet  near  enough  to  lend  color  to  the  activi- 
ties of  the  region.  In  fact  it  was  a  fine  field  for  a  man 
with  the  antecedents,  the  accomplishments  and  spirit  of 
Leonidas  Polk,  to  enter.  He  enjoyed  its  contrasts,  and 
blessed  himself  for  its  opportunities. 

For  six  months  he  journeyed,  chiefly  on  horseback, 
often  in  rude  vehicles,  sometimes  on  foot,  through  path- 
less forests,  open  prairies,  dangerous  swamps,  and  swol- 
len streams  —  visiting  every  community  and  many  lonely 
dwellings  where  the  children  of  the  Church  were  to  be 
found;  gathering  congregations,  holding  services,  preach- 
ing, baptizing,  confirming,  and  celebrating  the  sacrament 
wherever  and  whenever  he  could  find  an  opportunity. 
First  he  visited  North  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  going 
afterwards  into  Arkansas,  an  untouched  field.  He  cov- 
ered the  settlements  on  the  Mississippi,  the  Arkansas 


iEt.  33]  EXPERIENCES.  159 

and  the  White  Rivers.  Then  crossing  through  the  south- 
western parts  of  the  State,  like  work  was  done  in  regions 
contiguous  to  the  Red  River,  including  north  Louisiana, 
likewise  a  virgin  field.  This  route  led  him  into  east 
Louisiana  and  southwest  Mississippi,  where  at  Natchez 
he  attended  the  state  convention.  From  here  he  went 
to  New  Orleans  and  south  Texas,  officiating  at  posts 
along  the  Gulf  and  the  navigable  rivers.  Returning 
through  New  Orleans  he  reached  home  in  July,  '39.  He 
had  travelled  5,000  miles,  preached  44  sermons,  baptized 
14,  confirmed  41,  consecrated  one  church  and  laid  the 
cornerstone  of  another. 

Some  quaint  anecdotes  of  his  experience  have  been  pre- 
served, all  illustrating  the  versatility  as  well  as  the  de- 
votion of  the  man.  One  whimsical  adventure  may  be 
taken  as  a  sample  of  the  rest.  On  one  occasion  he  took 
passage  on  a  steamer  bound  for  Shreveport,  Louisiana, 
on  which  there  was  no  accommodation  for  passengers, 
and  he  was  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  a  fellow-passen- 
ger, a  fur-trader,  who  had  formerly  been  master  of  a 
vessel  sailing  from  Nantucket,  for  the  use  of  a  bearskin 
to  sleep  on.  Next  day  he  saw  his  companion  take  an 
observation  of  the  sun,  and,  after  waiting  a  few  minutes, 
begin  to  read  his  Bible.  Asking  an  explanation,  the 
captain  told  him  that  his  wife  was  a  devout  Episcopalian, 
that  he  had  agreed  with  her  that  they  should  read  their 
Bibles  daily  at  the  same  hour,  and  that,  in  order  to  be 
sure  of  always  reading  at  the  same  hour  with  his  wife, 
it  was  his  custom  to  make  an  observation  whenever  it 
was  possible  to  do  so.  At  night  the  steamer  struck  a 
snag  and  sank.  The  bishop  had  the  satisfaction  of  as- 
sisting his  friend  in  saving  his  peltries;  but  the  steamer 
was  about  to  be  abandoned,  when  the  bishop  suggested  a 
plan  by  which  it  might  be  raised.     Under  his  directions 


160  PREACHING  UNDER  DIFFICULTIES.       [1839 

the  crew  went  to  work  with  a  will,  and  the  boat  was 
raised.  Before  it  could  be  repaired,  however,  to  con- 
tinue its  voyage,  another  steamer  passed  and  took  the 
bishop  and  the  fur-trader  on  board.  At  Shreveport, 
after  visiting  a  colony  of  Episcopalians  a  few  miles  out 
of  town,  the  bishop  endeavored  to  make  arrangements 
to  hold  a  service,  but  his  overtures  were  not  well  re- 
ceived. He  was  bluntly  told,  "We  have  never  had  any 
preaching  here,  and  we  don't  want  any."  At  last  it  was 
agreed  that  if  a  certain  Mr.  Blank  should  make  no  ob- 
jections, the  service  might  be  held.  Mr.  Blank  said  that 
he  had  left  Maine  because  he  had  been  dosed  to  death 
there  with  religion,  and  he  wanted  none  of  it  at  Shreve- 
port; but  he  agreed  that  if  a  place  could  be  found  in  which 
to  hold  a  service,  he  would  make  no  objections.  A  place 
was  found  in  an  unfinished  house;  but  the  owner,  after 
consenting  that  the  bishop  might  use  it,  withdrew  his 
consent,  saying  that  he  must  be  guaranteed  against 
damage  to  his  property,  and  estimating  the  possible 
damage  at  six  hundred  dollars.  The  friendly  trader  at 
once  put  up  the  money,  to  be  paid  to  the  owner,  in  whole 
or  in  part,  as  might  be  determined  by  a  committee  of 
impartial  citizens,  to  reimburse  him  for  any  possible 
damage.  The  demand  of  the  owner  of  the  house  seemed 
to  be  a  subterfuge  to  escape  from  his  previous  consent 
to  allow  his  house  to  be  used;  but  it  may  have  been  a 
just  precaution,  after  all;  for  when  it  was  known  that 
the  service  was  actually  to  be  held,  a  mob  of  raftsmen 
and  other  rowdies  sent  him  word  that  they  would  either 
prevent  the  meeting  or  disperse  it  by  force.  The  bishop 
went  calmly  on  with  his  preparations;  Captain  Barnard, 
the  fur-trader,  procured  a  table,  covered  it  with  a  white 
cloth,  on  which  he  laid  his  Bible,  and  then  went  through 
the   town  ringing  a  hand-bell  to  give  notice   of  the 


Mt.  33]  THE  TEXANS  COMMENT.  161 

service.  At  the  last  moment,  when  a  mob,  as  well  as  a 
congregation,  was  gathering,  the  sunken  steamer  which 
the  bishop  had  raised  came  into  port,  and  the  crew, 
hearing  of  the  disturbance,  rushed  to  the  scene  of  the 
expected  riot,  and  declared  that  the  bishop  should  not 
be  molested.  He  was  no  "common  preacher,"  they 
said;  he  knew  how  to  work,  and  they  would  like  to  see 
any  one  who  would  hinder  him  from  preaching  if  he 
wished  to  do  so.  Accordingly  the  service  was  held  in 
quietness. 

In  Texas  he  had  some  rough  experiences.  The  "re- 
public" was  at  that  time  a  place  of  refuge  for  insolvent 
debtors  and  not  a  few  fugitives  from  justice.  Even 
the  bishop  was  suspected  of  belonging  to  one  or  other  of 
those  classes.  A  Texan,  happening  to  hear  that  he  was 
one  of  the  Polks  of  Tennessee,  sat  for  a  while  silent,  and 
then  said,  "Well,  stranger,  if  it  is  a  fair  question,  I 
would  give  a  heap  to  know  what  brought  you  here." 
The  bishop  smilingly  told  him  that  he  was  a  clergyman 
who  had  come  to  preach  to  the  people.  "Oh,  my 
friend,"  replied  the  Texan,  "go  back,  go  back;  we  are 
not  worth  saving!" 

Upon  another  occasion  when  he  had  reached  New 
Orleans  on  one  of  his  visitations,  the  bishop  took  pas- 
sage on  a  steamer  which  was  about  to  sail  from  that  city 
to  Paducah,  Ky.,  but  just  as  he  was  going  on  board  he 
heard  that  one  of  his  West  Point  classmates  had  been 
imprisoned  for  debt,  and  went  to  see  him.  The  delay 
cost  him  his  passage;  for  when  he  reached  the  levee  the 
steamer  had  sailed  without  him,  to  his  great  regret,  as 
he  had  expected  to  travel  with  a  number  of  friends  who 
were  on  board.  Next  day  he  sailed  on  another  steamer, 
and  on  arriving  at  Smithland  he  found  the  steamer  on 
which  he  was  to  have  sailed  lying  at  the  wharf,  disabled 


162  SECOND  VISITATION.  [1840 

by  the  bursting  of  a  boiler;  and  when  he  went  on  board 
he  saw  the  dead  bodies  of  two  members  of  the  party 
with  which  he  was  to  have  traveled.  Not  one  of  the 
whole  party  had  escaped  injury.  Deeply  thankful  for 
his  preservation,  he  reached  his  home  safely,  and  re- 
mained there  attending  to  his  private  affairs,  except 
when  visiting  his  mother  at  Raleigh,  until  he  was  ready 
to  undertake  another  visitation. 

His  second  missionary  journey  began  in  January,  '40, 
and  was  given  to  Alabama,  Mississippi,  New  Orleans 
and  adjacent  country.  Covering  the  region  in  geo- 
graphic order  he  began  at  Florence  and  Tuscumbia,  next 
to  Columbus,  Mississippi  —  thence  he  crossed  back  into 
Alabama  and  covered  all  posts  and  missions  in  the  cen- 
tral parts  of  the  State,  east  and  west.  He  then  went  to 
Mobile,  where  he  consecrated  Christ  Church,  then  to 
New  Orleans,  consecrating  St.  Paul's  Church.  He  then 
fixed  a  mission  at  Baton  Rouge,  thence  to  Mississippi, 
where  he  also  made  a  thorough  visitation,  consecrated 
two  churches,  and  ended  his  tour  in  May,  presiding  at 
the  State  Convention  at  La  Grange.  It  lasted  continu- 
ously for  six  months,  and  was  extremely  laborious.  He 
performed  episcopal  duties,  it  is  true,  consecrating 
churches  and  confirming  the  baptized;  but  the  clergy 
were  few,  and  his  main  work  was  that  of  an  evangelist, 
preaching  from  house  to  house  as  he  had  opportunity, 
and  constantly  exhorting  the  people  to  care  not  only  for 
their  own  souls,  but  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  their 
negroes,  and  to  them  he  called  their  special  atten- 
tion. He  soon  began  to  perceive  that  if  the  work 
of  the  Church  were  to  be  done  with  efficiency,  his 
vast  jurisdiction  would  have  to  be  supplied  with  more 
chief  pastors.  On  his  return  he  wrote  to  Bishop 
Mcllvaine  as  follows  : 


ML  34]      LETTER  TO  BISHOP  McILVAINE.  163 

Columbia,  August  10,  1840. 

My  dear  Brother:  We  write  at  long  intervals.  Our  cares, 
doubtless,  increase  and  demand  more  of  our  time  daily  as  we 
pass  through  life.  I  find  it  so.  You  must  much  more.  But  you 
have,  you  may  be  sure,  the  same  place  in  my  heart  which  has 
owned  you  as  its  tenant  for  these  fourteen  years,  and  I  think 
you  are  quite  likely  to  retain  it  to  the  last.  I  should  have 
written  you  sooner  after  my  return,  but  I  saw  by  the  papers 
you  were  On  the  wing,  and  knew  not  your  whereabouts.  I 
sympathize  with  you  in  regard  to  your  support.  Nothing  can 
be  more  trying  than  to  wait  upon  the  tardy  movements  of  a 
thoughtless  —  I  will  not  say  thankless  —  people;  and  of  all 
human  ills,  debt  to  a  clergyman  is,  perhaps,  as  grievous  as 
any.  It  is  the  parent  of  a  large  progeny,  and  they  are  all 
armed  against  the  peace  of  the  unhappy  debtor.  I  was  in- 
discreet enough  some  time  since  to  endorse  for  a  particular 
friend  of  mine  —  one  of  my  communicants  when  I  last  had 
charge  of  a  church;  my  vestryman,  my  warden,  my  right  arm 
in  every  good  work.  He  was  all  I  could  wish  as  a  Christian 
layman.  But,  alas,  he  was  overtaken  by  reverses  of  the  times 
and  prostrated,  and  I  am  charged  with  the  payment  of  a  large 
amount  on  his  account.  If  I  escape  with  $15,000,  I  shall  be 
thankful.  But  I  would  do  again  what  I  did  then,  for  I  thought 
I  was  doing  a  good  work.  I  mean,  of  course,  in  the  same 
circumstances.  It,  however,  greatly  annoys  me,  as,  besides 
the  necessary  attention  in  arranging  and  running  the  debt  in 
banks,  etc.,  it  lessens  my  means  of  usefulness  in  that  par- 
ticular. I  trust,  however,  that  this  state  of  things  will  have 
an  end. 

How  is  it  with  regard  to  the  consecration  sermon?  Was 
there  a  balance  due  on  that  account  not  paid  by  the  Cincin- 
nati congregation?  Bishop  Meade  dropped  me  a  line,  not 
long  since,  concerning  it.  He  thought  you  had  been  taxed 
with  part  of  the  expense.  I  thought  otherwise,  as  Mr.  Johns 
long  ago  wrote  me  that  he  only  wanted  one  hundred  dollars 
to  make  up  the  whole  amount.  This  sum  I  sent  him.  Please* 
speak  of  this  in  your  next,  as  you  ought  not  to  have  been 


164  PUSEYISM.  [1840 

burdened  with  it.  You  see  I  write  freely,  because  to  you  I 
feel  I  may  speak  frankly. 

I  see  you  have  been  in  the  East;  I  suppose,  to  bring  out 
your  book.  Did  you  find  a  publisher  to  your  liking?  I 
should  like  to  have  met  you  there,  but  it  was  impossible. 
Up  to  the  close  of  my  last  visitation  I  had  been  eighteen 
months  in  the  episcopate,  and  had  spent  only  four  of  the 
eighteen  with  my  family  at  my  own  home,  so  that  I  felt  that  I 
could  not  go  away  this  summer.  I  have  fully  seen  the  ground 
allotted  me  by  the  church,  and  found  it  was  quite  impossible 
for  me  to  do  anything  effectively  over  so  wide  an  extent  of 
country.  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Arkansas 
embrace  an  area  which  would  require  two  years  of  incessant 
active  labor  to  visit  as  a  bishop  ought  to  visit  a  field  assigned 
him,  without  one  day  of  rest  intervening.  It  is  in  extent 
about  equal  to  all  of  France,  the  surface  exceeding  rough, 
and  the  facilities  of  communication,  off  the  rivers,  wretched. 
I  have  often  felt  strongly  that  a  missionary  bishop  ought  not 
to  have  a  family.  He  should  be  literally  married  to  the 
Church.  He  should  have  a  thought  for  nothing  else:  a  man 
of  one  idea,  of  one  book,  of  one  object.  The  work  of  his 
Master  demands  the  whole  man.  I  often  think  of  a  remark 
tauntingly  made  by  your  fellow-laborer,  the  Romanist  bishop 
of  Ohio,  to  Campbell,  the  Baptist,  in  their  theological  bout, 
when  discussing  the  doctrine  of  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy. 
He  asked  Campbell  if  he  did  not  think  St.  Paul  would  have 
cut  a  fine  figure,  while  visiting  the  churches  of  Asia,  with  a 
wife  and  seven  screaming  children  following  in  his  train! 

Bishop  Otey,  not  finding  himself  fully  occupied  in  his  dio- 
cese, or  finding  he  might  be  as  profitably  engaged  in  dis- 
pensing occasional  services  elsewhere,  has  consented  to  take 
Mississippi  under  his  care,  which  has  lightened  my  labors  to 
that  extent.  His  health,  however,  is  now  bad;  and  I  fear, 
unless  he  is  soon  relieved,  he  may  be  unable  to  labor  any- 
where.    He  has  gone  to  Virginia  Springs. 

How  do  you  find  the  Eastern  clerical  mind  on  the  subject 
of  what  is  peculiarly  Puseyism?    I  have  not  yet  been  able  to 


Mt.  34]  THIRD  VISITATION.  165 

see  the  tracts  on  Justification  and  Baptism.  I  have  had  those 
only  which  form  the  first  part  of  the  series,  on  the  Apostolical 
Succession,  and  found  in  them  nothing  which  has  not  been 
written  before.  Seabury  was  less  harsh  than  I  expected, 
though  his  notice  was  in  keeping  with  his  system. 

What  do  you  think  of  Whittingham's  sermon?  I  liked  it 
very  much.  It  seems  to  me  to  carry  ministers  of  the  right 
stamp  neither  to  outward  order,  nor  outward  academical  or 
other  merely  human  institutions  or  arrangement,  but  to  the 
throne  of  grace. 

He  is,  I  fear,  though,  too  rapid  in  his  provisions  for  Texas. 
Three  bishops  are  more  than  are  at  all  necessary.  One  will 
do  all  the  work  tp  be  done  there  for  years;  two  certainly.  I 
suppose  he  wanted  them  to  establish  a  church  at  once,  and 
cut  off  the  occasion  for  a  spurious  episcopacy. 

Very  affectionately  your  brother  in  Christ, 

Leonidas  Polk. 

In  November,  1840,  he  set  out  on  his  third  missionary 
visitation,  traveling  this  time  in  a  light  carriage  drawn 
by  a  pair  of  stout  horses  and  driven  by  one  of  his  negro 
servants.  In  this  conveyance  he  made  his  way  to  Mem- 
phis and  thence  to  Little  Rock,  where  the  state  of  the  roads 
compelled  him  to  abandon  it,  and  he  pursued  his  journey 
on  horseback  through  the  Indian  Territory  into  Texas, 
returning  through  Louisiana  and  Mississippi  to  his  home 
>in  Tennessee.  This  tour  was  completed  by  the  middle  of 
April.  Arkansas,  Indian  Territory,  North  Texas  and 
North  Louisiana  had  been  thoroughly  covered,  and  the 
church  had  been  established  at  many  points  —  not  the 
least  important  being  along  the  Arkansas  River  as  far  as 
the  Indian  Territory  and  at  two  other  commanding 
positions  in  the  northern  section  of  the  State  —  Batesville 
and  Fayetteville.  It  was  from  the  last-named  place  that 
he  entered  the  Indian  Territory,  passing  first  through  the 
Cherokee  reservation  to  Fort  Gibson,  then  through  the 


166  LETTERS  TO  HIS  MOTHER.  [1841 

Choctaw,  south  to  Texas  on  the  Red  River.  Thence 
visitations  were  continued  along  Red  River  throughout 
North  Louisiana  and  stations  in  southwest  Arkansas  — • 
certainly  an  active  year.  The  deep  sense  of  responsi- 
bility by  which  he  was  controlled,  and  something,  too, 
of  the  nature  of  the  work  in  which  he  was  engaged,  may 
be  gathered  from  the  following  extracts  from  letters  to 
his  mother: 

Little  Rock,  January  18,  1841. 
My  dear  mother  will  permit  me  to  wish  her  a  very  happy 
New  Year.  I  know  not  how  others  feel,  but  it  appears  to  me 
as  if,  in  the  journey  of  life,  when  I  get  to  this  season,  I  am 
standing  on  the  top  of  a  high  hill,  up  which  I  had  been  strug- 
gling from  midsummer,  and  that  from  the  heights  I  might 
cast  my  eye  backward  and  forward  overlooking  the  months 
of  the  old  year  behind  me  and  of  the  new  before  me.  I  feel 
always  like  stopping  and  standing  still  to  call  up  the  recollec- 
tions of  the  events  of  the  one  year  and  looking  forward  to 
the  duties  of  the  other.  This  is  the  season  at  which  we  may 
particularly  remember  the  things  "we  have  left  undone  which 
we  ought  to  have  done,"  and  to  think  upon  how  much  we  have 
done  that  is  sinful  and  what  needs  to  be  repented  of.  For 
myself,  I  feel  that  I  have  done  but  too  little  in  accomplishing 
the  end  of  my  creation  in  the  year  that  is  now  gone.  I  have 
meditated  too  little;  I  have  humbled  myself  too  infrequently 
before  the  throne  of  God;  I  have  been  too  seldom  found  in 
prayer;  I  have  watched  against  the  intrusion  of  a  worldly 
spirit  too  little;  I  have  thought  too  seldom  of  death,  of  its 
inevitable  certainty,  of  the  necessity  of  being  constantly  pre- 
pared for  it.  I  have  not  governed  my  temper  as  I  ought;  I 
have  not  sufficiently  hoarded  my  time  and  applied  it  to  profit- 
able uses.  All  these  things  stand  up  before  me  when  I  look 
back  on  the  past;  and  I  resolve,  with  the  strength  and  grace 
of  God  my  Saviour,  I  will  amend  in  all  these  things  for  the 
future  year.  I  think  thus:  that  multitudes  have  been  swept 
by  the  hand  of  the  ruthless  destroyer  into  eternity  during  the 


ML  34]  LETTERS  CONTINUED.  167. 

year  now  gone,  that  as  many  are  to  follow  after  them  in  the 
year  now  begun;  and  I  ask  myself  if  I  should  be,  as  I  may  be, 
of  that  number,  how  I  shall  feel  when  the  summons  comes. 
God  grant  that  I  may  be  neither  terrified  nor  alarmed,  but 
calm,  composed,  and  at  rest  on  the  bosom  of  my  compassion- 
ate Saviour.  I  suggest  these  things,  my  dear  mother,  because 
they  are  prompted  by  the  season  and  because  they  may  be 
alike  profitable  to  us  both. 

I  have  now  been  near  a  month  in  Arkansas,  visiting  different 
parts  of  it,  and  I  shall  not  be  able  to  leave  it  and  the  Indian 
Territory  west  for  a  month  hence.  I  go  to  the  Northwest  in 
the  course  of  next  week,  to  Fayette ville,  then  to  Fort  Gibson, 
and  across  the  Indian  Territory  to  Fort  Towson,  thence  over 
Red  River  and  through  Louisiana  and  Texas  before  I  return. 
It  is  a  sad  trial  to  be  so  much  absent  from  my  family,  but  I 
am  hoping  it  will  not  be  so  always.  If  possible,  I  wish  to  be 
at  home  in  May. 

I  hope  George  has  long  been  recovered  from  the  ill  turn  he 
was  suffering  when  I  parted  with  him.  My  kind  regards  to 
him.  You  may  say  to  him  that  I  shattered  the  " buggy"  very 
effectually  coming  through  the  swamp,  and  that  I  am  now 
handsomely  equipped  with  saddles,  bridles,  martingales,  and 
saddle-bags,  and  that  my  fine  buffalo-rug  makes  a  very  full 
covering  for  my  own  and  Armstead's  fixtures.  I  find  the 
horses  fine  travelers  under  the  saddle.  My  only  apprehension 
is  that  we  may  attract  the  regards  of  the  horse-thieves.  But 
if  we  should,  we  must  bow  to  a  necessity  that  we  cannot  avoid. 

I  had  a  letter  from  Fanny.    All  well.  .  .  . 


Pine  Creek,  Texas,  February  2,  1841. 
My  dear  Mother:  I  wrote  you  not  long  ago  from  Little 
Rock,  and  since  that  from  Van  Buren  —  no,  I  am  mistaken  — 
I  wrote  Fanny  from  that  point,  and  also  Mrs.  Devereux  from 
a  point  above  in  the  Cherokee  Nation.  From  that  letter  you 
will  hear  of  how  and  where  I  have  been  engaged.  I  have 
since  then  come  across  to  this  part  of  the  world  through  the 


168  ROUGH  EXPERIENCES.  [1841 

Choctaw  country,  and  crossed  Red  River  into  Texas,  this  land 
of  promise.  I  am  now  about  fifteen  miles  above  the  mouth  of 
the  Kiamachis,  and  above  Fort  Towson.  I  came  from  Fort 
Towson  here  to  visit  an  Episcopal  family  of  the  name  of  John- 
son, from  Baltimore.  The  father  of  the  family,  now  dead,  was 
a  cousin  of  James  Johnson.  I  go  down  the  river  to-day  by 
the  way  of  Gainsboro  toward  the  part  of  the  country  where 
our  kinsmen,  the  Hawkins,  reside,  thence  into  Arkansas  and 
Louisiana. 

Spring  Hill,  Arkansas,  February  10,  1841. 

I  have  dropped  down  some  hundred  miles  from  the  point  at 
which  I  was  when  I  dated  the  above,  and  stopped,  in  coming 
down,  at  both  Ben's  and  Henry's  in  Arkansas,  and  at  William's 
in  Texas.  I  crossed  the  river  at  Jonesboro  and  came  into  the 
Indian  Territory,  thence  into  Arkansas,  and  into  Texas  again 
to  William's,  and  down  some  sixty  miles  on  the  Texas  side  [of 
the  landing  opposite  this  place]. 

I  am  going  from  this  to  Shreveport  to-day,  and  I  have  con- 
cluded to  take  passage  on  a  steamboat  to  that  place,  as  one 
of  my  horses  has  the  scratches,  and  I  fear  may  fail.  The  mud 
through  which  I  have  had  to  force  my  way  has  seemed  almost 
intolerable.  I  have  had,  as  you  may  suppose,  some  rather 
rough  fare.  A  few  nights  ago  I  had  to  pass  the  night  in  a 
cotton-house  on  the  top  of  a  pile  of  cotton,  with  dogs  and 
negroes  lying  around,  and  a  hamper-basket  to  hang  my  clothes 
upon.  But  my  health  is  good,  and  I  manage,  on  the  whole, 
to  make  myself  comfortable.  I  travel  with  my  buffalo-robe 
and  a  supply  of  blankets. 

I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  from  you  at  New  Orleans,  where  I 
hope  to  be  both  going  and  returning  from  Texas.  I  go  to 
to  consecrate  the  church. 

I  find  Folly,  one  of  your  old  carriage-horses,  the  finest  sad- 
dle-horse I  have  ever  traveled.  He  performs  admirably,  and 
is  just  what  I  want.  You  may  say  to  George  that  the  roan 
cannot  keep  pace  with  him,  and  I  have  feared  I  shall  have  to 
leave  him.    You  see  I  write  in  great  haste. 


Mi.  35]         THE  CHURCH  IN  LOUISIANA.  169 

April  5,  Red  River. 
My  dear  Mother:  I  wrote  you  about  a  fortnight  since  from 
Lost  Prairie,  a  thousand  miles  up  this  river  from  the  planta- 
tion of  Messrs.  Turner  &  Hamilton,  giving  an  account  of  my 
tour  up  to  that  time.  The  letter  I  hope  you  have  received. 
Since  that  time  I  have  been  engaged  at  various  points  on 
this,  performing  services,  preaching,  visiting,  etc.  I  am  now 
on  my  way  to  Natchez,  where  we  expect  to  be  this  evening. 
I  find  the  field  quite  white  to  the  harvest,  and  no  laborer 
here.  There  is  no  portion  of  the  whole  country  so  destitute, 
I  presume,  as  Louisiana.  She  has  not,  so  far  as  I  know,  a 
single  church  west  of  the  Mississippi  River;  and  I  find  few 
or  no  Presbyterians,  and  only  now  and  then  a  wandering 
Methodist.  The  Sabbath  is  no  Sabbath  here.  The  stores 
and  shops  are  kept  open  just  as  on  other  days,  and  the  plant- 
ers and  tradesmen  look  upon  that  day  as  a  day  set  apart  for 
laying  in  supplies  and  doing  odd  jobs.  And  yet  they  express 
a  desire  to  have  churches  established  amongst  them,  and  avow 
a  willingness  to  support  a  minister  should  he  come  among 
them.  At  Natchitdoches,  where  I  spent  a  week,  the  better 
part  of  Passion  Week,  and  where  I  was  on  Sunday  last,  I  had 
to  defer  my  Sunday  services  until  twelve  o'clock  in  order  to 
get  a  congregation,  as  up  to  that  time  the  people  were  engaged, 
by  permission  of  an  express  statute  of  the  police  authorities, 
in  trading  at  these  stores,  and  this  state  of  things  obtained 
throughout  the  country  on  the  river.  I  preached  a  number 
of  times  there, — I  think  five, — and  found  my  audience  contin- 
ually increasing.  On  the  last  occasion  it  was  positively 
crowded,  and  I  hope  that  good  was  done.  We  preached  in 
the  court-house.  They  were  very  anxious  that  I  should  re- 
main with  them  a  month,  promised  to  put  a  subscription  forth 
directly  to  build  a  church,  and  pledged  themselves  to  support 
a  minister  if  I  would  send  them  one.  There  are  a  good  many 
French  Catholics  there.  They  set  lightly  by  their  religion. 
Many  came  to  our  services  during  the  whole  time  I  was  there. 
We  could  make  our  impression  not  only  on  the  American 
part  of  the  population,  but  also  on  the  French.    I  shall  take 


170  A  NIGHT  WITH  JOHN  ROSS.  [1841 

steps  to  endeavor  to  have  their  wants  supplied.  I  stopped  at 
Alexandria,  and  also  at  another  point  in  the  midst  of  the 
Great  Raft,  called  Shreveport  in  honor  of  the  captain  of  the 
snag-boats  who  removed  the  Raft.  Those  points  are  desti- 
tute, as  well  as  the  country  surrounding,  the  latter  particularly. 

The  anticipation,  mentioned  in  one  of  these  letters,  of 
an  encounter  with  horse-thieves,  was  well  founded.  The 
country  was  overrun  by  desperadoes  who  were  held  in 
check  only  by  the  fear  of  desperate  resistance.  Riding 
on  one  occasion  through  the  Indian  Territory,  he  saw 
two  men  approaching,  and  knew,  even  at  a  distance, 
what  they  were.  He  rode  quietly  on,  however,  keeping 
an  eye  upon  them,  but  otherwise  giving  no  sign.  They 
nodded  to  him  as  they  passed,  and  he  returned  their 
salutation.  That  night  he  stopped  at  the  house  of  John 
Ross,  the  Cherokee  chief,  and  when  he  mentioned  the 
incident  and  gave  a  description  of  the  men,  Ross  con- 
gratulated him  on  his  escape.  The  men,  he  said,  were 
well-known  ruffians,  and  he  added,  "They  knew  you 
must  be  well  armed,  or  they  would  surely  have  attacked 
you."  When  the  bishop  assured  him  that  he  was  not 
armed,  and  that  a  man  of  his  profession  could  not  carry 
arms,  Ross  was  at  first  unwilling  to  believe  him,  and  said 
that  it  was  dangerous  for  any  one  to  go  unarmed  in  that 
country.  Throughout  the  evening  he  entertained  his 
guest  with  cordial  hospitality,  but  on  bidding  him  fare- 
well in  the  morning  the  bishop  noticed  that  he  had 
become  cold  and  distant.  During  the  day  he  asked  his 
servant  whether  anything  had  occurred  to  offend  the 
chief.  The  negro  could  not  tell,  but  later  said  that  after 
the  bishop  had  retired  Ross  had  asked  if  it  was  true  that 
they  traveled  through  that  country  without  weapons. 
"I  was  not  going  to  let  him  and  his  people  think  that 
about  us,"  said  the  negro,  "so  I  told  him  that  we  were 


ML  36]  FRANCIS  STROTHER  LYON.  171 

always  heavily  armed.  And  so  you  are,"  he  continued. 
"  Aren't  you  armed,  master,  with  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit?"  The  cause  of  Ross's  change  of  demeanor  was 
obvious.  He  resented  what  he  supposed  to  have  been 
the  bishop's  falsehood. 

In  strict  keeping  with  this  narrative  the  story  of 
Bishop  Polk's  missionary  work  should  end  here,  but  the 
commercial  depression  following  the  financial  panic  of 
1837  had  everywhere  presented  such  obstacles  no  ade- 
quate conception  of  these  labors  could  be  given  which 
did  not  feature  this  depression  more  fully  than  has  been 
done  thus  far.  Alabama  affords  the  best  example  of 
the  unhappy  condition,  and  also  gives  the  finest  example 
to  be  found  anywhere  of  the  kind  of  citizen  who  was 
being  evolved  from  the  mixed  conditions  of  the  south- 
west and  who  was  to  bring  order  out  of  the  chaos  of  those 
days. 

Marengo  county,  Alabama,  presented  an  interesting 
community  which,  among  other  things,  had  an  in- 
dividual background  of  romantic  history,  for  its  early 
settlers  were  French  refugees,  soldiers  of  Napoleon,  with 
their  families.  To  these  had  been  added  a  group  of 
educated  and  refined  people,  chiefly  from  Virginia,  North 
and  South  Carolina.  The  Anglican  Church  had  grown 
here,  perhaps,  more  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  State, 
so  that  when  Bishop  Polk  came  he  found  before  him  an 
active  and  earnest  community.  The  most  prominent 
and  active  of  all  these  were  Francis  Strother  Lyon  and 
his  family.  This  remarkable  man  had  come  at  an  early 
date  to  South  Alabama.  Of  fine  heritage,  he  soon  be- 
came a  potent  factor  in  the  State  government,  first  as 
President  of  the  Senate  and  later  as  member  of  Congress 
for  several  terms.  Here  he  encountered  such  men  as 
Clay,  Calhoun,  Webster,  Benton,  Polk,  Forsyth  and 


172  FRANCIS  STROTHER  LYON.  [1843 

Wright;  and  being  already  a  leading  lawyer  of  his  own 
bar,  opportunities  for  improvement  were  not  neglected, 
so  that  his  councils  were  sought  for  by  his  associates.  He 
had  won  great  distinction  in  righting  the  finances  of  the 
State,  wrecked  in  the  panic  of  '37.  He  saved  Alabama 
from  the  fate  which  befell  Mississippi  —  repudiation  — 
which  no  doubt  determined  the  more  flourishing  condi- 
tions which  sprang  up  and  have  continued  in  the  State 
ever  since. 

A  witness  to  this,  Judge  John  A.  Campbell  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court,  writes:  "The  Flush 
Times  of  Alabama"  (so  called)  had  their  inception  in 
the  multiplication  of  banks  founded  on  borrowed  money. 
These  continued  till  the  failure  of  the  banks.  In  1843 
the  banks  were  disfranchised  by  the  Legislature,  and  the 
liquidation  of  their  affairs  ordered.  The  measures  for 
liquidation  were  not  perfected  until  the  appointment  of 
Mr.  Lyon  as  sole  trustee  and  manager  of  all  of  the  affairs 
of  those  institutions,  and  of  the  payment  of  the  bonded 
debt  of  the  State.  At  a  very  early  period  of  this  crisis 
in  the  affairs  of  the  State,  attention  was  directed  to  him 
as  the  most  competent  person  for  the  performance  of  the 
arduous  duty.  I  find  in  a  book  published  in  Alabama  a 
pointed  expression  of  the  popular  sentiment  existing  after 
the  work  had  been  finished.  The  author  says:  "It  has 
been  the  good  fortune  of  most  commonwealths,  at  some 
period,  to  have  one  citizen  distinguished  from  the  rest  by 
qualifications  for  a  particular  service  in  some  political  or 
financial  emergency,  whose  ability  and  virtue  exactly 
meet  the  demand.  Such  was  the  relation  sustained  by 
the  Hon.  Francis  S.  Lyon  to  the  people  of  Alabama,  in 
relieving  them  of  their  embarrassments,  which  threat- 
ened to  weigh  them  down  by  onerous  taxation  or  to 
subject  them  to  what  would  be  more  painful  —  that  the 


JEt.  37]  FRANCIS  STROTHER  LYON.  173 

public  faith  and  good  name  of  the  State  should  be  dis- 
honored. The  man  was  found  for  the  occasion,  in  whose 
praise  there  is  perfect  unanimity  in  the  State."  He 
adds:  "No  picture  is  more  perfect  and  complete  in  moral 
grandeur  and  beauty."  The  task  performed  by  Mr. 
Lyon  was  one  of  great  complexity  and  one  imposing  con- 
tinual responsibility.  There  were  impediments  and  vex- 
ations arising  from  the  number  of  debtors,  and  the 
artifices  and  frauds  which  attend  upon  such  undertak- 
ings. There  was  a  vast  circulation  of  bank  notes,  much 
depreciated,  which  produced  discontent  and  irritation. 
The  payment  of  the  interest  of  the  State  debt  was  em- 
barrassed by  the  fact  that  collections  of  taxes  were  made 
in  the  currency.  There  were  a  variety  of  other  causes 
of  obstruction.  Mr.  Lyon  brought  to  the  performance 
of  his  task  the  confidence  and  support  of  the  people. 
He  was  wise,  reasonable,  conversant  with  affairs,  affable, 
and  with  a  flowing  courtesy  to  all  men.  Besides,  he 
was  firm,  faithful,  and  just.  The  result  of  his  adminis- 
tration were  the  redemption  of  the  bank  notes,  the  re- 
duction of  the  public  debt  so  as  to  be  within  the  compass 
of  the  current  revenues  of  the  State,  and  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  credit  and  good  name  of  the  State,  and  a 
restoration  of  the  public  confidence,  so  that  the  people 
were  satisfied  and  their  hopes  in  the  future  assured.  Mr. 
Lyon  was  in  the  councils  and  Congress  of  the  Confederate 
States.  I  met  with  him  at  Richmond,  and  we  occasion- 
ally interchanged  opinions  on  the  prospect  before  us. 
His  characteristic  resolution  and  firmness  constantly 
appeared.  He  had  no  hesitation  in  believing  that  in 
whatever  position  he  might  be  placed  he  would  stand 
on  his  own  feet  firmly,  and  that  he  would  impart  confi- 
dence and  assurance  to  those  about  him.  He  knew  him- 
self, and  knew  the  way  before  him,  rough  or  smooth; 


174  FRANCIS  STROTHER  LYON.  [1843 

with  considerate  courage,  calm  will  and  steadfast  mind, 
he  pursued  his  purposes.  He  was  a  temperate  man  in 
all  his  methods,  exerting  habitual  self-control,  of  untiring 
industry,  not  easily  duped  or  deceived  in  his  intercourse 
with  men,  and  with  a  reputation  for  integrity  and  honor 
that  was  universal  and  pervading.    A  man 

Whose  powers  shed  round  him  in  the  common  strife 

Of  mild  concerns  of  ordinary  life 

A  constant  influence  —  a  peculiar  grace, 

But  who  when  called  upon  to  face 

Some  awful  moment  to  which  Heaven  has  joined 

Great  issues,  good  or  bad  for  human  kind; 

Through  all  the  heat  of  conflict,  kept  the  law 

He  had  in  calmness  made. 

One  can  complete  this  much  too  brief  sketch  with  the 
record  of  a  continuously  active  life  lived  always  upon  the 
same  high  plane  of  public  usefulness  until  late  in  the 
last  century.  He  was  a  conspicuous  and  unvarying 
example,  especially  during  the  Civil  War  and  reconstruc- 
tion period,  of  a  well  poised,  courageous  and  wise  man, 
and  his  influence  in  staying  the  hand  of  violence  in  this 
latter  period  cannot  be  overvalued.  He  was  of  inestima- 
ble service  as  Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Com- 
mittee of  the  Confederate  Congress,  in  making  the  best 
that  could  be  made  of  an  impossible  situation,  and  when 
the  time  came  to  construct  a  new  constitution  for  the 
rehabilitated  State  we  find  him  busily  employed  at  this 
work.  Immediately  upon  the  close  of  the  Civil  strife, 
in  conjunction  with  his  friend  and  former  associate  in 
the  government  at  Richmond,  General  Gorgas,  head  of 
the  Ordnance  Department,  he  took  up  the  development 
of  the  mineral  resources  of  his  State,  and  at  once  became 
a  leader  in  the  extraordinary  growth  which  has  since 


Mt.  37]  THE  HOME  AT  BLUFF  HALL.  175 

occurred.  From  first  to  last  he  was  the  ideal  citizen . 
The  nobility  of  this  character  found  a  fit  setting  in  the 
beauty  of  his  home.  His  wife,  Sarah  Glover,  was  a 
remarkable  woman:  of  unusual  strength  of  character  she 
fixed  at  the  outset  the  highest  ideals  for  her  home,  and 
developed  a  household  whose  refinement,  culture,  and 
joyous  high  Godly  living  made  it  a  memorable  resting 
place  to  the  many  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  find 
themselves  its  guests.  Mrs.  Lyon  was  a  forceful,  yet 
gracious  and  tactful  example  of  the  things  best  worth 
having  in  this  life,  and  she  was  an  influence  to  which  the 
most  obdurate,  even  the  most  cynical,  bowed.  To  this 
day,  now  nearly  a  century,  since  these  two  began  their 
youth,  the  influence  of  their  noble  lives  remains  in  this 
region  as  one  of  those  leavens  of  heavenly  benediction 
which  in  passing  we  partake  of  unconsciously  without 
always  realizing  whence  it  comes.  Such  a  home  could 
not  be  other  than  priceless  to  the  faith  in  which  it  had 
grown  —  Leonidas  Polk  found  it  so,  not  only  when  first 
he  gave  confirmation  to  some  of  its  daughters,  but  later 
when  in  the  days  of  war's  stress  he  knelt  before  the  altar 
of  their  church,  and  as  Bishop  and  Lieutenant-General 
partook  with  them  of  the  blessed  sacrament. 

Going  thus  from  house  to  house,  meeting  intimately 
the  contrasts  furnished  by  this  home  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  dwelling  of  the  Cherokee  Chief,  John  Ross,  on 
the  other,  some  days  travelling  in  comfort  and  luxury  on 
a  river  steamer,  then  resting  in  a  dirty  frontier  hotel 
surrounded  by  an  odd  mixture  of  sturdy,  honest  fron- 
tiersmen, gamblers,  horse  thieves,  "gun  men,"  and  kid- 
nappers, Leonidas  Polk  got  a  knowledge  of  the  people 
of  the  southwest  that  stood  him  in  good  stead  then  and 
after.  It  was  because  of  this  that  twenty-five  years 
later,  he  was  appealed  to  as  one  who  knew  better  than 


176  LOUISIANA  PLANTATION.  [1843 

those  about  him  the  secret  springs  which  moved  the 
sentiment  and  opinions  of  these  people. 

Toward  the  close  of  his  third  visitation  Bishop  Polk 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  some  change  in  his  arrange- 
ments must  be  made,  in  order  to  obviate  the  necessity  of 
such  long-continued  separations  from  his  family.  He 
did  not  for  a  moment  think  of  abandoning  his  work; 
and  although  he  was  convinced  that  his  vast  jurisdiction 
ought  to  be  distributed  into  several  jurisdictions  under 
the  care  of  several  bishops,  he  had  no  assurance  the 
Church  would  undertake  the  responsibility  of  sending 
and  supporting  the  men  who  were  needed.  There  re- 
mained but  one  way  in  which  the  separation  from  his 
family  might  at  least  be  shortened,  namely,  by  the 
change  of  residence  from  Tennessee  to  some  point  nearer 
the  geographical  center  of  his  work,  from  which  he  might 
make  shorter  tours  instead  of  one  continuous  visitation 
lasting  many  months  at  a  time.  For  that  reason  chiefly 
he  resolved,  after  due  consideration,  to  purchase  a  plan- 
tation somewhere  in  Louisiana,  and  there  make  his  home. 

The  estate  which  he  ultimately  purchased  was  Leigh- 
ton,  on  Bayou  La  Fourche,  about  sixty  miles  from  New 
Orleans.  The  removal  was,  at  best,  a  sad  one.  In  spite 
of  cares,  his  Tennessee  home  was  very  dear  to  him.  He 
had  many  friends  there,  among  whom  he  had  hoped  and 
expected  to  pass  his  lifetime.  His  farm  was  doing  well, 
and  he  had  just  finished  arrangements  for  better  service 
to  his  neighbors  and  their  servants  by  the  erection  of 
a  commodious  chapel,  which  he  called  St.  John's,  and 
which  he  consecrated  during  the  last  summer  that  he 
was  to  spend  in  its  neighborhood.  It  may  be  well  worth 
while  to  insert  here  an  account  of  St.  John's  and  its 
mixed  congregation,  which  was  written  at  the  time  by  a 
gentleman  from  Philadelphia: 


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JEt.  37]       ST.  JOHN'S  CHAPEL,  ASHWOOD.  177 

In  this  county,  upon  the  road  leading  from  Columbia  to 
Mount  Pleasant,  and  about  six  miles  from  the  former  place, 
in  a  grove  of  majestic  and  towering  oaks,  may  be  seen  a  neat 
brick  church  of  simple  Gothic  architecture;  its  interior  plain 
and  appropriate,  and  capable  of  seating  five  hundred  persons. 
It  has  been  just  completed,  and  is  the  result  of  the  joint  liber- 
ality of  Bishop  Polk  and  three  of  his  brothers,  who,  with  a 
spirit  worthy  of  commendation  and  imitation,  have  thus  de- 
voted a  portion  of  the  wealth  with  which  God  has  blessed 
them  to  His  service. 

Without  aid  from  abroad  these  gentlemen  have  erected  and 
paid  for  this  edifice,  and  presented  it,  together  with  a  plot  of 
about  six  acres  of  land,  to  the  diocese.  The  lot  has  been 
selected  from  an  eligible  portion  of  the  bishop's  plantation, 
within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  whose  mansion  the  church 
stands.  It  has  been  erected  for  the  convenience  of  the  few 
families  in  the  neighborhood,  who,  with  a  large  number  of 
negroes  upon  their  plantations,  will  make  quite  a  congrega- 
tion. For  this  latter  class  the  bishop  has  been  in  the  habit, 
for  a  long  time  past,  of  holding  regular  services  in  his  own 
house.  They  will  now  have  an  opportunity  of  worshiping  in 
a  temple  which  they  may  almost  call  their  own. 

After  referring  to  the  services  in  the  church  on  the 
day  of  its.  consecration,  the  writer  continues:  ^ 

There  is  yet  one  thing  which  I  must  not  forget  to  notice.  I 
have  said  that  on  the  adjoining  plantations  there  are  negroes 
for  whose  spiritual  good  this  church  was  in  part  erected.  By 
the  time  the  white  congregation  were  seated  in  the  body  of 
the  church,  the  door,  the  vestibule,  the  gallery,  and  staircase 
were  crowded  with  blacks,  even  the  vestry-room  was  filled 
with  them,  one  old  man  sitting  within  the  doorway  almost  at 
the  very  feet  of  the  clergy.  A  happier  group  I  have  seldom 
seen.  Some  of  them  had  prayer-books  in  their  hands,  but, 
for  their  general  benefit  in  singing,  the  psalms  and  hymns 
were  given  out  in  the  old-fashioned  way  —  two  lines  at  a 


178  SERVICE  TO  THE  NEGRO.  [1841 

time;  and,  I  am  sure,  during  the  singing,  the  loudest  strains 
of  praise  came  from  the  sable  groups. 

•  When  the  whites  had  communed,  a  cordial  invitation  from 
the  bishop  was  given  to  the  blacks  to  come  forward.  At  the 
same  time  he  explained  in  a  few  words  what  was  required  of 
them  in  worthily  partaking  of  that  sacrament.  Then  quite  a 
goodly  number  came,  with  much  reverence  and  devotion,  to 
that  feast,  precious  alike  to  bond  and  free.  Ah!  could  some 
of  our  friends  have  witnessed  that  scene,  how  it  would  have 
silenced  the  suspicion  that  a  slaveholder  values  not  the  soul 
of  his  slave. 

Thus  does  the  enlarged  benevolence  of  these  men  embrace 
a  class  hitherto  too  much  neglected,  a  class  which,  in  our 
good  city  of  brotherly  love,  are  suffered  to  grovel  in  ignorance, 
degradation,  and  sin.  Here  will  they  learn  to  worship  God 
in  Spirit  and  in  truth;  here  be  taught  to  pray  with  the  heart 
and  with  the  understanding  also;  and  here,  when  death  has 
arrested  their  course  upon  earth,  will  they  find  a  resting-place 
under  the  tall  old  oaks  in  their  own  churchyard;  for  the  lot 
upon  which  the  church  is  built  has,  for  some  time,  been  set 
i  apart  for  the  purpose. 

In  September,  1841,  Bishop  Polk  left  home  to  attend 
the  Triennial  General  Convention  of  the  Church,  and 
while  there  he  was  invited  by  the  deputies  from  Loui- 
siana to  accept  the  bishopric  of  their  diocese.  The 
request  was  approved  by  the  House  of  Bishops,  which 
then  proceeded  to  elect  him,  under  a  special  canon,  to 
the  diocesan  bishopric  which  had  been  offered  to  him. 
On  October  16,  1841,  the  House  of  Deputies  confirmed 
the  election;  and  on  that  day,  having  resigned  his  mis- 
sionary jurisdiction,  Leonidas  Polk  became  Bishop  of 
Louisiana.  He  then  entered  into  an  arrangement  through 
which  he  divided  with  Bishop  Otey  the  duties  of  Mis- 
sionary Bishop  in  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Mississippi  and 
Texas,  he  continuing  the  work  in  Alabama  and  Texas, 


Mi.  38]  BISHOP  OF  LOUISIANA.  179 

Bishop  Otey  in  Arkansas  and  Mississippi.     This  was  the 
natural  division  of  the  territory  as  it  gave  to  each  the 
region  next  him  and  insured  easy  access  to  most  of  it 
through    the    steamboat    transportation    conveniently 
located  on  all  important  waterways.     He  had  estab- 
lished ten  stations  in  Arkansas,  including  Fort  Gibson, 
Indian  Territory;  clergy  were  still  scarce,  however.     In 
Louisiana  seven  priests  were  actively  at  work  with  ten 
congregations  and  three  church  edifices.     Bishop  Polk 
held  charge  in  Alabama  until  the  election  and  appoint- 
ment of  Bishop  Cobbs  (1843-4),  making  his  last  visita- 
tion during  1843,  consecrating  three  churches  and  con- 
firming seventy  people.     He  closed  his  work  in  Alabama 
in  attending  the  State  Convention  in  '44.     The  Church 
in  Texas  interested  Bishop  Polk  very  deeply  for  many 
reasons,  chief  among  them  the  fact  that  in  common  with 
other  Tennesseeans  and  North  Carolinians  many  rela- 
tives were  migrating  thereto.     The  northeastern  parts 
of  the  State  he  had  already  twice  visited  in  connection 
with  his  work  in  Arkansas  and  North  Louisiana.     He 
strove  to  go  to  Southern  Texas  in  '42  and  '43,  but  could 
not  do  so  till  1844;  he  then  visited  the  coast  and  river 
towns,  consecrating  two  churches  and  confirming  fifty- 
three  people,  leaving  three  organized  parishes  (Mata- 
gorda, Galveston,  Houston)  and  several  organized  con- 
gregations.    Bishop  Polk  thus  closed  in  Texas  his  work 
as  Missionary  Bishop  of  the  southwest.     The  following 
year  Bishop  Freeman,  the  newly  appointed  Missionary 
Bishop  of  Arkansas  and  Texas,  took  up  the  work  as  a 
part  of  his  field. 

Among  the  problems  which  had  fixed  his  attention 
that  of  master  to  slave  was  perhaps  the  most  impelling. 
Believing  in  gradual  emancipation  his  mind  was  con- 
stantly turned  to  the  problem  as  it  then  stood..    He  did 


180       CONTINUED  SERVICE  TO  THE  NEGRO.    [1855 

not  deal  in  this  merely  with  people  of  his  own  church; 
anyone  the  owner  of  slaves,  whether  possessed  of  a 
religion  or  without  one,  was  his  objective,  and  so  while 
moving  through  this  domain  he  ever  kept  his  eye  upon 
this  momentous  question.  Intolerant  of  no  Christian 
faith,  he  made  friends  among  all,  his  one  object  being  a 
bond  of  human  Christian  union  which  never  weakened. 
If  what  he  accomplished  in  Louisiana  to  improve  the 
relations  between  master  and  slave  is  an  index  of  what 
was  done  in  other  states,  it  is  clear  that  he  worked  on 
productive  lines. 

The  evangelization  of  the  sons  of  Africa,  engaged  a  large  part 
of  his  thought.  Let  the  parochial  sketches  in  this  volume  be 
read,  and  it  will  be  clearly  seen  how  he  led  his  clergy.  Every- 
where the  rectors  were  found  ministering  on  the  plantations. 
When  the  Diocese  was  under  full  headway  the  number  of  per- 
sons of  color  ministered  to,  largely  outnumbered  the  whites  who 
received  the  services  of  the  Church.  He  was  not  one  to  believe 
that  the  personal  commission  to  the  priest  to  preach  to  every 
creature,  was  to  be  received  with  the  mental  reservation  that  the 
Master  meant  only  every  creature  who  came  to  the  "preaching 
house."  Nay,  he  believed  that  the  preacher  endangered  his 
own  salvation,  who  refrained  from  preaching  to  the  black  man, 
and  when  any  one  spoke  of  the  discouragements  attending 
such  work,  he  would  say,  "  You  may  not  save  him,  but  you  will 
save  yourself." 

In  1855  there  were  congregations  of  slaves  on  thirty- 
one  plantations  of  this  diocese,  numbering  in  the  aggre- 
gate 3,600  people  —  and  let  it  be  said  here  that  the 
necessities  of  the  ritual  of  the  Church  entailed  a  contact 
between  the  races  on  these  plantations  which  compelled 
mutual  appreciation. 

1  History  Diocese  of  Louisiana,  H.  C.  Duncan,  p.  14. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  PLANTATION  HOME  IN  THE  DIOCESE  OF  LOUISIANA. 
1841  TO  1854. 

Sacrifices  by  the  bishop  and  his  family.—  The  family  position  in  Maury 
County. —  Election  of  James  K.  Polk  as  President. —  Family  affection. — 
Family  connections. —  Becomes  a  planter  at  Leighton. —  A  noble  motive, 
but  disastrous  result. —  Incompatibility  of  sugar-planting  and  the 
episcopacy.—  Death  of  the  bishop's  mother. —  "  The  Old  North  State." — 
Patriarchal  life  at  Leighton. —  Southern  hospitality. —  A  Southern 
house. —  Children's  rights. —  Social  life. —  A  family  hospital. — An  ag. 
gressive  temperament. — Nobility  of  character. —  Capacity  for  work. — 
The  bishop's  wife. —  Family  instruction. —  Mammy  Betsey. — Life  among 
the  slaves. —  The  " Rolling  Ball." — Punch  on  a  sugar-plantation. —  Pun- 
ishing a  chicken-thief. —  An  old-time  Southern  mammy.—  Experience  of 
a  governess  in  the  bishop's  family. —  The  library. —  Family  devotions. — 
A  baptism  which  did  not  "  take."  —  Sunday-school  among  the  negroes. 
—  Death  in  the  quarters.—  Sanctity  of  family  life. — Negro  marriages.— 
Care  of  the  negro  children. —  The  beginning  of  troubles. —  Private  in- 
terests sacrificed  to  public  duties. —  The  negroes' family  pride. —  The 
bishop's  hopefulness. —  111  effects  of  optimism. — A  woman's  "slow 
courage." — Routine  of  the  mistress  of  a  Southern  plantation. —  Litera- 
ture at  Leighton. —  The  cholera. —  Hospital  work. —  The  bishop  attacked 
by  cholera. —  Death  of  a  faithful  servant. —  Loss  of  crops. —  Loss  by 
tornado. —  Trust  in  God. —  Robbed  by  breach  of  trust. —  Prosperity  of 
episcopal  work. — Ravages  of  yellow  fever. —  Leighton  taken  by  credi- 
tors.—  Purchases  in  Mississippi. —  Removal  to  New  Orleans. — Appointed 
rector  of  Trinity  Church. — The  bishop's  pastoral  and  episcopal  char- 
acter.—  Developing  one's  individual  character. —  Parochial  administra- 
tion.—  A  stickler  for  episcopal  dignity  and  rights. —  Power  of  rebuke. 

While  there  were  personal  disadvantages  connected 
with  Bishop  Polk's  removal  to  Louisiana,  the  Church  was 
greatly  the  gainer.    To  the  bishop  and  his  family  the  re- 

181 


182  THE  POLK  FAMILY.  [1842 

moval  from  Tennessee,  as  has  been  said,  involved  many 
sacrifices.  In  Manry  County  and  its  neighborhood  the 
Polk  family  held  a  commanding  position.  All  of  Colonel 
William  Polk's  sons,  except  Thomas,  had  been  settled 
there  for  several  years.  Many  of  their  cousins  had  estates 
there,  and  were  known  as  wealthy  and  successful  men. 
One  of  them,  James  K.  Polk,  was  elected  President  of 
the  United  States  in  1844.  The  affection  existing  among 
these  numerous  kinsmen  was  unusually  strong,  and  their 
relations  to  each  other  were  entirely  harmonious.  Natu- 
rally they  had  formed  connections  with  other  families 
of  similar  position.  Mr.  Lucius  Polk,  for  example,  had 
married  a  relative  of  President  Jackson,  and  the  mar- 
riage had  been  celebrated  at  the  White  House  in  Wash- 
ington. Thus,  the  Polk  family  of  Tennessee  enjoyed  a 
social  life  and  a  public  influence  which  was  really  excep- 
tional, and  in  their  almost  patriarchal  society  the  bishop 
held  the  chief  place  of  affection  and  distinction.  At  the 
time  of  his  election  to  Louisiana  he  had  made  arrange- 
ments for  the  management  of  his  private  affairs  which 
would  have  released  him  to  a  great  extent  from  the  per- 
sonal supervision  of  private  business,  and  would  have 
left  him  free  to  devote  his  whole  time  to  the  Church 
while  his  family  resided  in  a  country  noted  for  its  beau- 
ty and  salubrity.  His  acceptance  of  the  episcopate  of 
Louisiana  had  this  great  compensation,  however,  that  it 
would  permit  him  to  make  shorter  visitations,  so  that, 
while  a  large  part  of  his  time  must  be  spent  away  from 
home  in  the  performance  of  official  duties,  his  absences 
would  at  least  be  less  trying  to  himself  and  his  family. 

But  this  great  advantage  was  to  some  extent  offset  by 
the  necessity  of  encumbering  himself  with  large  and 
heavy  business  cares.  Mrs.  Polk,  on  the  death  of  her 
mother,  had  inherited  a  considerable  estate,  and  it  was  left 


Mt.  36]  A  DISASTROUS  STEP.  183 

to  her  choice  either  to  accept  her  share  of  her  mother's 
property  in  money,  or  to  take  hundreds  of  negroes  who 
had  belonged  to  Mrs.  Devereux.  The  easiest  course  for 
the  bishop  would  have  been  to  take  the  money  and  avqid 
the  care  of  managing  a  large  plantation.  But  Louisiana 
was  distinctively  a  plantation  State;* and  the  bishop  felt 
that  in  order  to  exercise  the  best  influence  in  a  commu- 
nity of  planters,  he  himself  must  be  a  planter.  His  mis- 
sion was  to  the  servant  as  well  as  to  the  master ;  and  he 
believed  that  an  example  of  dutiful  care  of  his  own  peo- 
ple on  his  own  estate  would  be  the  best  possible  exposi- 
tion of  the  duty  of  the  master  to  the  slave.  Accordingly, 
Leighton  was  bought,  and  the  bishop  with  his  family 
took  possession  of  it  with  four  hundred  negroes.  The 
motive  was  altogether  noble  and  unselfish;  the  result 
was  utterly  disastrous.  The  management  of  so  complex 
and  exacting  an  estate  as  a  sugar,  plantation  on  that 
scale  was  inconsistent  with  the  full  performance  of  epis- 
copal duty;  and  as  the  latter  was  not  neglected,  the 
former  suffered.  The  accidents  and  losses  incident  to 
sugar- planting,  which  another  man  might  have  retrieved, 
and  which  the  bishop  would  easily  have  retrieved  but 
for  his  episcopal  occupations,  plunged  him  into  financial 
embarrassments  and  ended  in  an  almost  total  loss  of  his 
whole  property,  for,  as  he  afterward  said,  "  If  I  had  had 
nothing  else  on  my  hands  but  my  worldly  affairs,  I  should . 
have  experienced  no  difficulty.  But  I  have  been,  of 
course,  very  much  hampered  by  my  other  engagements, 
which  to  me  must  be  always  of  paramount  importance." 
It  is  not  intended  here  to  write  the  history  of  Bishop 
Polk's  episcopate  in  Louisiana.  In  its  details  it  differed 
little  from  the  work  of  the  episcopate  in  other  new  coun- 
tries. It  had  peculiar  difficulties,  of  course,  on  account 
of  the  lack  of  facilities  of  travel,  and  still  more  on  ac- 


184  SUNDAY  LABOR.  [1842 

count  of  the  character  of  the  population,  which,  outside 
of  New  Orleans,  was  then  chiefly  composed  of  French 
Creoles,  adherents  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Suf- 
fice it  to  say  that  in  the  eighteen  years  which  followed 
his  attendance  at  his  first  diocesan  convention  in  Louisi- 
ana in  January,  1842,  he  had  the  satisfaction  to  see  the 
Church  increase  in  the  number  of  its  clergy  more  than 
sevenfold,  in  the  number  of  its  communicants  more  than 
tenfold,  and  in  the  number  of  its  parishes  and  missions 
more  than  twentyfold.  The  present  chapter  will  be  de- 
voted to  a  rapid  review  of  the  bishop's  life  during  the 
fifteen  years  following  his  removal  to  Leighton  rather 
than  to  a  record  of  his  official  acts,  and  in  this  review 
the  writer  is  glad  to  avail  himself  of  documents  which 
have  been  kindly  placed  at  his  disposal. 

When  Bishop  Polk  removed  to  Louisiana  it  was  the 
universal  custom  of  sugar-planters  throughout  the  season 
of  cane-grinding  to  keep  their  mills  running  without  in- 
termission, even  on  Sunday.  It  was  held  on  all  hands, 
even  by  devout  religious  persons,  that  Sunday  labor  at 
that  season  must  be  regarded  as  a  work  of  necessity, 
since  a  single  frost  might  at  any  time  greatly  diminish 
the  value  of  their  crops.  The  bishop,  however,  resolved 
that  he  and  all  his  family  must  keep  the  Lord's  Day  holy, 
and  that,  be  the  consequences  what  they  might,  his  ser- 
vants should  not  work  on  that  day.  It  was  in  vain  that 
his  neighbors  remonstrated  against  this  innovation  on 
the  customs  of  the  country.  They  urged  the  loss  which 
he  would  surely  suffer  soon  or  late;  they  represented 
to  him  that  the  negroes  on  the  neighboring  plantations, 
when  required  to  work  on  Sunday,  would  become  dissat- 
isfied and  discontented ;  and  his  overseer  predicted  that, 
by  the  loss  of  one  day  in  seven,  his  sugar-making  would 
be  so  diminished  that  his  reputation  as  a  practical  man 


Mt.  39]       DEATH  OF  MRS.  SAB  AH  POLK.  185 

of  business  would  necessarily  suffer.  To  all  this  the 
bishop  replied  that  the  course  he  had  adopted  was  the 
only  course  consistent  with  his  duty  as  a  Christian ;  that 
by  divine  command  the  man-servant  and  the  maid-ser- 
vant of  his  neighbors  had  the  same  right  as  his  own  to 
one  day  of  complete  rest ;  that,  in  his  opinion,  he  would 
not  fall  much,  if  at  all,  behind  his  neighbors  in  the  sav- 
ing of  his  crops ;  and  that,  come  what  might,  he  would 
do  what  he  believed  the  law  of  God  required.  Gradually 
his  course  gained  the  approval  of  his  neighbors.  Within 
a  few  years  his  example  was  generally  followed,  and  he 
had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  it  entailed  no  serious 
loss  to  the  interests  of  the  planters. 

In  1845  the  bishop's  mother  died.  The  deep  love 
which  he  bore  her  was  warmly  expressed  in  a  letter  to 
his  sister,  Mrs.  Kenneth  Raynor,  of  North  Carolina. 

Thibodeaux,  January  10, 1846. 
On  my  return  from  New  Orleans  a  few  days  since,  I  read 
your  letter  informing  me  of  the  death  of  our  dear  mother. 
How  deeply  the  stroke  came  upon  us  you  may  well  imagine. 
The  presence  of  such  a  mother,  if  not  within  immediate  access, 
at  least  within  reach,  of  one  so  wise,  so  prudent,  so  kind,  so 
affectionate,  so  generally  tender,  is  a  blessing,  from  my  expe- 
rience of  life,  but  rarely  enjoyed.  The  perfect  consciousness 
of  that  which  was  right,  and  the  firm  and  more  than  feminine 
decision  with  which  it  was  invariably  pursued,  gave  to  her 
character  an  elevation  the  more  imposing  because  of  the 
simplicity  and  naturalness  out  of  which  these  traits  so  con- 
spicuously shone.  She  was  to  us  the  best  blessing  God  ever 
gave  us,  and  we  cannot  be  adequately  grateful  for  the  mercy. 
One  thing,  however,  we  may  do,  and  that  is,  by  humbly  and 
piously  giving  our  whole  hearts  to  God,  to  seek  to  manifest  a 
purpose  at  least  to  imitate  her  virtues  and  finally  be  sharers 
of  her  reward. 


186  HOME  LIFE  AT  LEIGHTON.  [1846 

The  twelve  years  of  his  residence  at  Leighton  passed 
rapidly,  and,  in  spite  of  all  misfortunes,  happily  away. 
Mrs.  Polk,  in  notes  which  she  wrote  for  her  children 
long  afterward,  said : 

These  were  happy  days.  In  the  winter  we  had  our  friends 
with  us.  In  the  summer  we  were  quiet  and  sometimes  alone  j 
and  how  I  enjoyed  those  little  intervals  of  leisure!  They 
were  very  few,  and  when  I  sometimes  complained  how  little  I 
saw  of  him,  he  would  always  answer,  with  his  pleasant  smile, 
"  Never  mind,  wife  j  we  shall  have  time  enough  in  heaven." 

The  bishop  himself  described  his  home  life  in  a  letter 
to  his  sister : 

My  wife  and  children  are  all  now  with  me,  and  I  am  enjoy- 
ing their  society  greatly,  at  no  time  more.  I  pass  my  time  in 
the  instruction  of  Hamilton  and  Fanny ;  my  daughter  in 
mathematics  and  the  classics,  Hamilton  alone  in  the  latter,  my 
study  hours  being  from  nine  a.m.  till  two  p.m.  I  am  highly 
pleased  to  witness  their  advancement,  which  I  would  fain 
believe  quite  as  decisive  as  it  has  hitherto  been  under  in- 
structors less  interested  in  their  improvement. 

They  all  sing,  and  that  pleases  me.  Should  you  hear  us 
sometimes  accompanying  the  piano  to  "  The  Old  North  State," 
you  would  think  we  were  hearty  lovers  of  all  her  simplicity, 
her  honesty,  and  her  pines — as  we  assuredly  claim  to  be.  So 
much  for  my  children.  And  now  when  are  we  to  see  you  and 
yours  f  I  hope  during  the  next  winter.  I  go  to  the  General 
Convention,  and  presume  I  will  be  in  Raleigh,  but  I  cannot 
promise.    I  will  if  I  can. 

The  home  life  at  Leighton  was  one  of  patriarchal  sim- 
plicity and  beauty.  A  niece  of  Mrs.  Polk,  who  passed 
nearly  a  year  there,  has  thus  recorded  her  recollections 
of  it: 

Leighton,  the  residence  of  Bishop  Polk  in  Louisiana,  was  a 
large  comfortable  house,  which  wore  at  all  seasons  an  air  of 


ML  40]  A   LOUISIANA   HOME.  187 

cheerful,  hearty  hospitality,  such  as  can  only  be  imparted  to  a 
home  from  the  hearts  of  its  master  and  mistress. 

The  lawn  in  front  sloped  to  the  Bayou  La  Fourche,  and 
was  surrounded  by  a  magnificent  hedge  of  Cherokee  roses, 
which,  growing  in  the  wild  luxuriance  that  vine  attains  in  a 
genial  climate,  was  in  some  places  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  broad 
across  the  top,  and  perfectly  impenetrable  to  all  but  the 
smallest  birds.  The  house,  with  its  long  roof  sloping  in  one 
unbroken  line  from  the  ridge-pole  to  the  eaves  of  the  lower 
piazza,  stood  well  back  from  the  parish  road  in  front,  and 
from  the  plantation  road  by  which  it  was  approached  at  the 
side,  and  which  separated  the  grounds  from  the  cane-fields 
and  the  negro  quarters.  The  back  lawn,  containing  the  of- 
fices and  the  rooms  of  the  house  servants,  was  divided  from 
the  stables  by  a  hedge  of  fig-trees,  any  one  of  which  would 
have  served  the  purpose  of  Zaccheus  and  supported  a  small- 
sized  man  on  its  limbs. 

Here  for  nearly  a  year  I  was  made  to  feel  that  I  was  one  of 
the  children  of  the  household.  The  wide  portico  in  front — 
on  which  looked  the  windows  of  the  front  parlor,  the  hall, 
the  bishop's  study,  and  Mrs.  Polk's  bedroom  —  was  the  after- 
noon summer  parlor,  where  the  family  gathered,  and,  with  the 
hall  itself,  was  the  play-room  of  the  children.  It  was  one  of 
the  bishop's  maxims  that  "  children  had  rights  as  well  as 
grown  folks,"  and  one  of  their  rights,  most  strenuously  in- 
sisted on  and  protected,  was  the  freedom  of  the  whole  house. 
He  would  never  allow  the  smallest  of  them  to  be  confined  to 
the  nursery.  He  used  to  say  that  good  manners  could  be 
taught  to  girls  and  boys,  but  that  easy,  unconscious  ones 
must  be  inhaled  with  the  air  of  their  daily  life.  Mrs.  Polk, 
who  had  been  brought  up  in  the  strictest  manner,  used  some- 
times to  make  spasmodic  efforts  to  introduce  a  little  of  its 
spirit  into  her  government,  but  the  genial  nature  of  the 
bishop  would  always  in  the  end  conquer  her  scruples.  I 
have  often  heard  her  laugh,  and  say,  "Father  is  away  so 
much  that  of  course  it  is  holiday  when  he  comes  home,  and 
I  believe  I  need  a  holiday  as  well  as  the  children."  She  felt 
that  she  could  afford  to  relax  the  reins  when  his  hand  was 


188  SOCIAL  LIFE.  [1846 

near  to  tighten  them,  if  needful,  and  guide  the  wild  young 
creatures  over  the  rough  places  of  life. 

The  life  at  Leighton  was  preeminently  sociable.  Scarcely 
two  consecutive  days  passed  without  company  to  breakfast, 
dinner,  or  tea,  and  the  "prophet's  chamber"  was  seldom 
empty  for  more  than  a  week  at  a  time.  But  company  was 
never  allowed  to  interrupt  the  family  routine.  Lessons  went 
on  at  the  usual  hours,  and  Mrs.  Polk  attended  to  her  house- 
hold duties,  while  the  guests  entertained  themselves  in  the 
parlors  or  the  bishop's  study,  or  in  strolling  or  riding  with 
him  over  the  cane-fields,  or  in  the  more  serious  duty  of  going 
through  the  hospital,  which  the  bishop  visited  daily  whenever 
there  was  a  patient  in  it. 

Guests  from  New  Orleans  frequently  came  up  unexpectedly, 
and  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  the  steamer  stop  at  the 
front  gate  and  deposit  a  passenger  who  came  for  a  day  or  a 
week,  sure  of  a  welcome  and  a  lodging  j  for  the  house  was  so 
large  that  it  was  seldom  filled  to  the  utmost,  and  there  was 
always  room  at  the  table  for  all  who  came. 

Nor  was  it  only  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  neighbors  and 
friends  that  he  had  at  heart  j  he  was  always  endeavoring  to 
improve  their  temporal  condition  as  well,  and  on  his  visits  to 
the  General  Convention  he  never  omitted  learning  all  he 
could  respecting  the  improvements  in  the  manufacture  of 
sugar,  seeing  new  machinery,  and  testing  it  himself  before 
trying  to  introduce  it  among  the  planters  around  him. 

The  bishop  used  to  say  of  himself  that  he  was  "  naturally 
aggressive,"  and  I  think  he  was  right  j  but  a  yet  stronger 
trait  of  his  character,  and  one  which  he  cultivated  instead  of 
repressed,  was  his  strong  sense  of  justice  and  desire  to  deal 
it  out  as  impartially  to  his  opponents  as  to  his  friends.  Al- 
though anything  approaching  deceit  or  prevarication  always 
excited  his  contempt  and  indignation,  I  have  heard  him  more 
than  once,  after  giving  way  and  expressing  these  feelings, 
add  in  a  softened  tone :  "  But  I  must  not  be  too  hard  on  it. 
It  is  the  failing  of  the  weak  in  mind  and  body,  and  the  nat- 
ural result  of  fear."  He  always  sought  to  instill  into  the 
hearts  of  his  children  that  perfect  love  which  casteth  out 


Mt.  40]  MRS.  POLK'S   CHARACTER.  189 

fear,  and  he  used  often  to  say  that  where  fear  of  punish- 
ment was  the  predominant  feeling  in  the  heart  of  a  child, 
deceitfulness  would  inevitably  be  the  result.  His  capacity 
for  work  was  very  great,  but  I  think  he  was  able  to  accom- 
plish much  in  a  short  time  because  he  possessed  in  an  emi- 
nent degree  the  ability  to  throw  off  business  thoughts  in  the 
hours  of  relaxation,  which  hours  were  always  spent  in  the 
family  circle.  Five  minutes  after  he  left  his  study  he  was 
the  "  biggest  boy "  of  the  family,  singing  comic  songs,  tell- 
ing amusing  stories,  or  entering  into  the  play  of  the  moment 
with  a  real  and  unaffected  zest  which  rendered  father  the 
"  best  fellow  in  the  world,"  as  I  once  heard  his  youngest  son 
say  at  the  mature  age  of  six  and  a  half.  To  make  a  kite  for 
this  youngster  and  then  help  him  to  fly  it  was  a  delight  to 
both ;  and  he  once  carried  into  the  pulpit  a  black  eye  which 
he  had  received  when  helping  to  raise  a  kite  which  was  too 
large  for  the  boy  to  manage  alone. 

I  cannot  close  these  recollections  [adds  Mrs.  Polk's  niece] 
without  mention  of  the  woman  who  was  the  presiding  influ- 
ence of  this  home.  A  daughter  of  John  Devereux,  of  The 
Ferns,  County  Wexford,  Ireland,  and  Frances  Pollok,  she 
was  a  great-granddaughter  of  Thomas  Pollok,  of  Balgra, 
Scotland,  president  of  the  colony  of  North  Carolina  and 
major-general  of  the  colonial  forces.  But  she  also  was  a 
descendant  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  her  grandmother  being 
Eunice  Edwards,  the  sixth  daughter  of  that  illustrious  man. 
Of  unusual  character  and  intelligence,  Mrs.  Polk  passed  a 
long  and  eventful  life  in  fullest  sympathy  with  her  husband. 

I  was  married  under  his  roof ;  and  turning  to  me  after  he 
had  performed  the  ceremony,  he  said,  in  the  hearing  of  all 
assembled:  " After  living  a  year  in  the  house  with  your  aunt, 
you  do  not  need  any  homilies  from  me  on  the  duties  of  a 
good  wife.  I  can  only  tell  your  husband  that,  if  you  profit 
by  her  example,  he  will  find  he  has  drawn  a  prize."  Left  for 
months  at  a  time  the  .head  not  only  of  the  house,  but  of  the 
plantation,  Mrs.  Polk  was  always  ready  and  competent  to 
meet  any  exigencies  that  might  arise  in  the  direction  of 
either.    She  never  assumed  responsibilities,  but  never  shrank 


190  A   LOVING  LAW.  [1846 

from  bearing  any  that  her  position  imposed  npon  her,  gladly 
casting  them  all  outwardly  on  her  husband's  shoulders  when 
he  returned,  and  then  becoming  apparently  his  aid  only, 
while  in  reality  she  was  the  mainspring  of  the  household. 
Quietly  conscious  of  her  power  with  others,  she  was,  unfor- 
tunately for  him,  timid  in  maintaining  any  opinion  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  bishop,  and  too  ready  to  say,  "Well,  you  know 
best."  In  fact,  it  was  often  she  who  knew  best,  and,  had  she 
asserted  herself,  she  could  have  gained  her  point,  for  her 
opinion  had  the  greatest  weight  with  him.  She  had  a  clear 
business  head,  great  executive  ability,  a  remarkable  power  of 
finding  out  the  resources  of  others,  and  the  faculty  of  making 
them  available.  She  was  well  read  in  the  literature  of  the 
day,  and  always  had  some  book  on  her  work-table,  which  she 
picked  up  at  spare  moments.  It  was  her  custom  to  talk  to 
her  children  of  what  she  was  reading,  even  when  the  book 
itself  was  beyond  their  comprehension ;  but  she  had  the  happy 
art  of  making  portions  of  it  so  simple  that  they  were  inter- 
ested in  the  narrative.  "What  is  you  reading, — 'Robinson 
Crusoe'  ?"  asked  a  little  one  of  five  years  old  one  day,  pulling 
out  of  her  mother's  hand  a  copy  of  Hugh  Miller's  "  Testimony 
of  the  Rocks."  "No,  my  pet;  I  am  reading  about  rocks." 
"  The  rocks  that  broke  his  ship  all  to  pieces  V  u  Yes ;  would 
you  like  to  hear  how  they  came  there  f "  Then  followed,  in 
language  that  the  little  girl  could  understand,  an  account  of 
the  coral-reefs  of  the  Pacific,  all  made  by  a  tiny  insect,  of 
which  rock  formation  the  young  lady,  it  is  needless  to  say, 
had  hitherto  no  knowledge  beyond  her  necklace  and  the 
baby's  coral  and  bells. 

Between  Bishop  Polk  and  his  wife,  though  unlike  in  many 
respects,  there  was  that  confidence  and  harmony  which  so 
often  attain  the  highest  perfection  between  persons  of  dis- 
similar character.  Indeed,  each  was  a  loving  law  unto  the 
other.  Among  Mrs.  Polk's  characteristics  the  most  promi- 
nent were  her  entire  sincerity  and  ingenuousness;  and  the 
charm  of  life  at  Leighton  was  its  simplicity  and  good-heart- 
edness.  Her  devotion  to  her  husband,  her  children,  her 
neighbors,  the  bond  and  the  free,  was  a  part  of  her  char- 


ML 40]  THE  "ROLLING  BALL"  191 

acter, —  simple,  natural,  and  without  display.  A  noble  wo- 
man, fit  helpmate  for  the  man  who  was  her  husband. 

Mrs.  Polk's  prime  minister  in  the  government  of  the  house- 
hold was  Mammy  Betsey,  who  had  been  her  maid  before 
marriage,  and  had  afterward  become  her  housekeeper.  Dear, 
good  Mammy !  We  all  loved  her  as  though  she  were  "  kin  to 
us."  Her  one  object  in  life  was  to  please  Master  and  u  Miss 
Fanny,"  as  she  always  called  her  mistress,  and  to  take  care 
of  their  children.  "  Faithful  unto  death "  was  she,  and  no 
memory  of  Leighton  is  complete  that  does  not  bring  to  mind 
her  tall  figure,  dignified  carriage,  and  untiring  efforts  to 
make  all  under  its  roof  comfortable,  not  only  for  their  own 
sakes,  but  for  the  "credit  of  the  family."  Often  have  I 
heard  her  impress  on  the  younger  servants  the  necessity  of 
cultivating  good  manners,  so  that,  when  ladies  and  gentle- 
men came  in  master's  and  mistress's  absence,  they  might  be 
received  with  "credit  to  the  family."  So  truly  and  fully 
indeed  did  the  spirit  of  hospitality  pervade  this  household, 
that  even  the  servants  were  imbued  with  it,  and  would  have 
felt  any  deficiency  in  that  respect  as  a  reflection  on  them- 
selves. 

The  servants  had  their  own  gatherings,  at  which  master 
and  mistress  always  appeared  for  a  few  moments.  The 
"  Rolling  Ball,"  which  was  given  every  winter  at  the  close  of 
the  cane-rolling  season,  was  a  scene  of  general  jollity,  when 
dance  and  music  were  carried  far  into  the  night.  The  sup- 
per for  this  ball  was  superintended  by  Mammy  Betsey,  and 
the  viands  served  were  as  well  cooked  and  as  good  of  their 
kind  as  if  prepared  for  the  master's  table.  Punch,  made  of 
the  half-boiled  juice  of  the  sugar-cane  and  green  limes,  was 
concocted  by  old  Washington,  who  served  it  out  to  the  guests 
until,  as  he  used  to  say,  "  The  fumes  of  it,  marster,  makes  me 
quite  stupid-like  ;  but  I  ain't  drunk,  only  just  smelling  of  it." 
"No, old  fellow,"  the  bishop  would  reply,  "I  look  to  you  set- 
tled ones  to  set  a  good  example  for  the  young  folks,  and  I  am 
sure  you  will  do  so."  It  was  by  taking  it  for  granted  that 
they  would  do  what  was  right,  and  appealing  to  their  self- 
respect,  that  he  strove  to  govern  his  negroes.    But  woe  to  the 


192  MAMMY  BETSEY.  [1846 

offender  who  persisted  in  his  offenses  j  for,  although  his  pun- 
ishment was  delayed,  it  was  sure  to  come.  I  remember  that 
a  persistent  chicken- thief  was  made  to  stand  for  several  hours 
one  Sunday  with  the  stolen  property  tied  round  his  neck, 
fluttering  and  clucking,  to  the  great  amusement  of  the  other 
negroes.  The  plantation  affairs  were  family  affairs  as  well, 
and  the  negroes  were  punished  for  offenses  in  the  same  spirit 
as  the  children. 

Taken  all  in  all,  I  have  never  seen  a  more  homelike  home 
than  that  of  Bishop  Polk  at  Leighton.    It  was  a  fit  shrine  for 

That  tender  heart  that  felt  for  every  woe, 
That  dauntless  soul  that  feared  no  human  pride, 

That  friend  of  man,  to  vice  alone  the  foe, 
Whose  every  failing  leaned  to  virtue's  side. 

The  Mammy  Betsey  referred  to  in  these  recollections  of 
Leighton  has  passed  from  among  us.  She  died  in  New 
Orleans,  October  2,  1874.  The  name  of  this  lifelong  attend- 
ant of  the  Polk  and  Devereux  families  was  Betsey  McKethan. 
She  was  born  on  the  plantation  of  John  Devereux,  of  The 
Roanoke,  North  Carolina,  January  1,  1800 ;  and,  to  para- 
phrase Heine,  she  was  held  in  the  estimation  of  all  those  of 
her  household  to  be  the  "  first  woman  of  her  century."  On 
the  marriage  of  Miss  Devereux  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Polk,  Betsey 
followed  the  fortunes  of  her  young  mistress.  She  was  a 
lifelong  communicant  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  her  life 
was  an  embodiment  of  its  precepts.  She  did  her  duty  in  that 
state  of  life  into  which  it  pleased  God  to  call  her.  She  wa? 
the  trusted  counselor  of  the  household  to  which  she  belonged 
Neither  wars  nor  revolutions  sufficed  to  shake  her  steadfas' 
fidelity.  She  lived  to  see  the  children  and  grandchildren  ot 
the  family  reach  the  third  generation.  Her  hands,  which 
tended  so  many  of  them  in  the  cradle  and  presented  them 
for  the  holy  waters  of  baptism,  had  too  often,  alas !  robed 
them  for  the  tomb.  In  all  the  chances  and  changes  of  life 
she  was  to  them  not  only  the  tender  nurse  of  infancy  and 
illness,  but  the  common  friend,  the  healer  of  differences,  the 
sharer  of  their  joys,  the  consoler  of  their  griefs. 


Mt.  40]  ROYAL  NEGRO  BLOOD.  193 

Honored  by  all  who  knew  her,  the  lofty  as  well  as  the 
lowly,  especially  did  those  of  her  own  race  find  in  her  an 
adviser  and  friend.  With  just  pride  they  may  cite  her  gentle 
ministrations,  her  purity  of  life,  her  unostentatious  piety,  as 
a  proof  that  Sisters  of  Charity  are  not  all  of  one  creed  nor  of 
one  color.  She  brought  up  her  own  children  in  the  fear  of 
God.  To  her  they  owe  the  lessons  which  have  made  them 
upright,  rendering  to  all  their  due,  and  entitled  to  the  respect 
of  the  community.  Her  mistress  was  not  able  to  join  the 
band  of  heartfelt  mourners  which  followed  her  to  the  grave  j 
but  she,  who  knew  her  best,  wrote  her  truest  eulogy  in  these 
few  words:  "Her  life  was  an  example.  God  grant  that 
death  may  find  each  of  us  as  well  prepared." 

"At  five  p.m.  on  the  day  of  her  funeral  in  New  Orleans," 
says  an  eyewitness,  "  I  picked  my  way  through  a  crowd  of 
respectable  and  polite  negro  men,  who  were  standing  on  the 
banquette,  to  the  house  of  mourning.  I  then  entered  a  small 
room,  hung  with  the  usual  adornments  of  grief,  and  occu- 
pied by  the  quiet  and  well-behaved  assemblage  of  her  friends. 
There  lay  the  neat  coffin,  covered  with  flowers,  the  kind 
gift  of  ladies,  and  at  its  head  stood  the  daughters  of 
Mammy's  former  mistress.  In  a  small  adjoining  room  were 
several  other  ladies,  awaiting  the  removal  of  the  body  to 
the  little  Prytania  Street  Chapel,  where  the  services  were 
to  be  held.  On  our  arrival  there  stood  the  venerable, 
deeply  loved  pastor  of  Christ  Church  (Dr.  Leacock),  who 
was  also  the  rector  of  the  chapel,  ready  to  perform  the  last 
rites  over  the  inanimate  body,  little  heeding  the  color  of 
the  casket  which  had  so  lately  contained  that  priceless  soul. 
As  those  solemn  words,  'I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life, 
saith  the  Lord,'  were  spoken,  there  was  a  quiver  in  the  voice 
of  him  who  read  them  j  for  he  had  known  and  esteemed  and 
felt  a  strong  affection  for  the  departed." 

Mammy's  grandmother,  so  tradition  goes,  was  an  im- 
ported princess  of  some  pretensions ;  and,  if  true  royalty 
consists  in  gentleness,  kindness,  and  an  intuitive  perception 
of  right,  then  Mammy's  life  amply  proved  her  claim  to  the 
possession  of  royal  blood.      Her  stanch  unchanging  devo- 


194  SLAVERY  AT  LEIGHTON.  [1846 

tion  and  active  gratitude  to  her  master's  children  stand  not 
alone  in  the  experience  of  many  a  Southern  family,  strange 
as  it  may  seem  to  those  who  never  knew  plantation  life. 

Miss  Beauchamp,  an  accomplished  lady  who  was  for 
three  years  the  resident  governess  of  the  family,  writes 
as  follows : 

My  first  introduction  to  Bishop  Polk  was  through  letters 
which  I  brought  from  my  own  diocesan,  the  Bishop  of  Cork, 
and  from  the  Chief  Baron  of  the  Exchequer  in  Dublin,  ad- 
dressed to  the  Bishop  of  Louisiana.  I  found  a  happy  home 
in  the  charming  family  on  Bayou  La  Fourche.  The  bishop's 
residence  was  a  large  plantation-house,  surrounded  by  a 
flower-garden  and  handsome  grounds.  He  had  a  good  li- 
brary of  choice  theological  works,  and  Mrs.  Polk's  book- 
shelves were  furnished  with  the  best  productions  of  modem 
literature. 

I  knew  before  I  came  to  this  country  that  slavery  existed 
here,  and  I  expected  to  see  the  black  servants  treated  with 
much  less  consideration  than  the  white  domestics  in  my  own 
country ;  to  my  surprise,  I  found  that  quite  the  contrary 
was  the  case.  There  was  a  host  of  servants  at  Bishop  Polk's  \ 
they  were  on  more  familiar  terms  with  the  family,  were 
more  kindly  nursed  in  illness  and  more  carefully  watched 
over  at  all  times,  than  I  ever  knew  servants  to  be  in  the 
old  country.  The  familiarity  at  first  somewhat  shocked  my 
European  notions.  I  did  not,  I  confess,  like  all  the  shaking 
of  black  hands  that  I  found  was  the  fashion.  The  house- 
hold, white  and  black,  assembled  every  morning  before 
breakfast  in  the  parlor.  The  psalms  for  the  day  were  read, 
a  psalm  or  hymn  was  sung  by  all ;  the  bishop  read  and  ex- 
pounded a  chapter  of  the  Bible,  and  then  prayed.  He  was 
fond  of  the  Proverbs.  If  there  had  been  any  dereliction 
of  duty  amongst  children  or  servants,  they  were  sure  to  hear 
of  it  at  these  morning  readings,  when  the  culprit  perfectly 
well  understood  for  whom  the  principal  part  of  the  lecture 
was  intended,  though  probably  no  one  else  did. 


Mt.40]         BAPTISMAL  REGENERATION.  195 

I  was  one  day  looking  from  my  window  up-stairs,  and  I 
saw  the  three  youngest  children  at  play  in  the  front  yard. 
One  asked  her  brother  to  get  her  some  roses  that  were  hang- 
ing in  rich  clusters  over  a  small  side-gate.  He  said,  "  No ; 
mother  has  forbidden  us  to  climb  on  that  gate."  The  little 
one  was  persistent,  would  have  the  flowers,  and  the  boy, 
like  poor  Adam,  and  many  a  good  man  from  that  day  to 
this,  was  about  to  yield  to  the  blandishments  of  beauty  and 
break  the  commandment, — not  for  an  apple,  but  a  rose.  Just 
then  the  other  little  girl  said,  with  an  air  of  reproof,  and 
exactly  in  her  father's  tone,  "  My  son,  if  sinners  entice  thee, 
consent  thou  not."  This  brought  both  delinquents  to  a  sense 
of  their  duty.  I  was  exceedingly  amused  at  such  an  appro- 
priate application  of  the  Proverb. 

The  bishop,  who  would  at  times  be  away  for  weeks  on 
visitations  through  his  diocese,  always  brought  on  his  re- 
turn joy  and  happiness  to  the  entire  household.  He  would 
amuse  us  for  days  with  a  recital  of  his  adventures  in  the 
border  region  of  Louisiana  and  with  the  people  he  would 
sometimes  meet  there.  On  one  occasion,  having  been  up 
the  Red  River,  where  an  Episcopal  clergyman  was  seldom 
seen,  he  was  called  on  to  baptize  a  sturdy  five-year-old 
youngster  who  defiantly  resisted  the  sacrament  unless  his 
black  Fidus  Achates,  Jim,  should  receive  it  at  the  same  time. 
"  Well,"  said  the  bishop,  "  bring  in  Jim,  and  I  will  make  a 
Christian  of  him,  too."  Accordingly  Jim,  duly  instructed 
by  his  mistress,  was  brought  into  the  parlor  j  the  pair  went 
through  the  ceremony  with  perfect  propriety,  and  were  dis- 
missed to  their  play.  Meanwhile,  the  friends  and  neighbors 
who  had  called  to  assist  at  the  baptism  and  pay  their  re- 
spects to  the  bishop  sat  in  solemn  state  awaiting  the  an- 
nouncement of  dinner.  Small-pox  had  been  lurking  in  the 
country.  Every  one  was  excited  on  the  subject  of  vaccina- 
tion, and  discussions  as  to  whether  it  had  taken  on  this  or 
that  subject  had  been  the  order  of  the  day  for  more  than 
a  week.  Suddenly  the  circle  was  astounded  by  the  re- 
appearance of  Jim,  who  exclaimed,  almost  breathless  with 
excitement,   "Mistis!    Mistis!    you  must  have  Marse  Tom 


196  NEGRO  NOMENCLATURE.  [1864 

baptized  over  agin.  It  never  tuck  that  ar  time.  He's  out 
yonder  cussin'  the  steers  worse  than  ever,  and  says  he  ain't 
gwine  to  stop  for  nobody ! "  The  ice  melted  at  once,  and 
the  stiffness  of  the  circle  vanished  as  the  bishop  turned  to 
the  hostess  and  said,  "  A  commentary  on  the  doctrine  of 
baptismal  regeneration,  my  dear  madam." 

Every  Sunday  afternoon  all  the  negroes  on  the  plantation 
came  up  to  the  house,  and  were  taught  by  Mrs.  Polk,  her 
daughters,  and  myself  in  various  classes.  Singing  entered 
largely  into  the  exercises,  many  of  the  negroes  having  a 
taste  for  music,  and  some  of  them  excellent  voices.  My 
class  consisted  of  grown-up  boys.  I  found  it  very  difficult 
to  keep  them  awake,  no  matter  how  edifying  I  fancied  my 
instructions  to  be. 

The  ceremonies  of  marriage  and  baptism  were  always 
performed  by  the  bishop  himself,  and  the  names  chosen  by 
the  negroes  were  sometimes  very  amusing.  Many  of  them 
could  read,  and  they  showed  their  appreciation  of  Greek 
mythology  and  Shakspere  by  the  number  of  Minervas  and 
Ophelias  amongst  them.  One  Sunday  twenty-five  little  negro 
infants  were  taken  into  the  bishop's  arms  and  christened. 
Though  the  scene  was  a  very  impressive  and  interesting  one, 
yet  some  of  the  names  were  so  droll  to  my  ears  that  I  could 
scarcely  preserve  a  becoming  gravity.  One  was  named 
u  Crystal  Palace,"  another  u  Vanity  Fair,"  etc.,  but  when 
a  little  creature,  black  as  Erebus,  and  squalling,  with  its 
mouth  extended  to  an  enormous  size,  was  taken  into  the 
bishop's  arms  to  be  named  "  Prince  Albert,"  it  was  impos- 
sible for  me  to  resist  any  longer,  and  a  heavy  fit  of  coughing, 
gotten  up  for  the  occasion,  saved  me  from  a  reproving  look 
from  the  good  bishop. 

An  eminent  clergyman  of  the  diocese  describes  a  visit 
he  made  to  Leighton  ; 

In  the  early  afternoon,  in  company  with  a  brother  clergy- 
man, I  drove  up  to  the  plantation  of  the  bishop  to  attend  the 
exercises  of  what  he  called  his  colored  Sunday-school.  Ap- 
proaching the  mansion,  we  heard  voices  within  singing  the 


Mt.  40]        A  FAMILY  SUNDAY-SCHOOL.  197 

church  songs.  In  the  largest  room  of  the  house  the  servants 
were  already  assembled,  to  the  number  perhaps  of  sixty  or 
eighty,  in  their  Sunday  garments,  ranged  in  two  lines  facing 
each  other,  with  a  considerable  space  between,  in  which  the 
chaplain  of  the  plantation  stood  conducting  their  devotions. 
At  one  end  of  the  room,  near  the  head  of  the  lines  of  servants, 
the  bishop  was  seated  with  two  or  three  invited  guests. 
Among  these  we  now  took  our  place.  The  religious  exercises 
being  ended,  the  female  servants  were  withdrawn  to  another 
apartment,  the  males  remained  to  be  examined  by  the  chap- 
lain. Questions  on  the  elementary  principles  of  the  Christian 
religion  were  put  and  answered  with  readiness  and  accuracy. 
Hymns  were  sung  and  anthems  chanted,  the  whole  service 
exhibiting  the  care  with  which  they  had  been  instructed  and 
their  interest  in  the  exercises. 

After  this  we  were  conducted  by  the  bishop  into  another 
room.  There  we  found  the  female  servants,  numbering 
twenty  or  more,  seated  on  forms  in  front  of  a  lady,  the 
governess  of  the  bishop's  family,  as  we  were  then  told,  who 
was  engaged  in  giving  oral  instruction  to  this  portion  of  the 
household.  Again  questions  were  put  and  answered  and 
hymns  sung,  as  before. 

Leaving  this  apartment,  we  passed  into  a  third  chamber, 
and  were  introduced  into  what  the  bishop  called  the  "  infant 
department"  of  his  Sunday-school.  Seated  on  two  benches 
was  a  class  composed  of  the  smaller  colored  children  of  the 
place,  attending  the  teaching  of  one  of  the  young  daughters 
of  the  bishop,  who  seemed  not  a  little  embarrassed  by  what 
was  probably  an  unexpected  intrusion  upon  her  labors.  The 
time  had  now  arrived  for  the  closing  exercises  of  the  day. 
The  whole  school  re-assembled  in  the  great  hall,  another  hymn 
was  sung,  and  prayers  were  offered  by  the  chaplain,  after 
which  the  bishop  rose  from  his  knees,  and,  with  his  hands  ex- 
tended over  the  company,  in  his  usually  impressive  manner, 
pronounced  the  apostolic  benediction,  realizing,  so  it  seemed 
to  me,  as  nearly  as  anything  in  those  days  could,  the  idea  of 
the  early  patriarch,  when  he  gathered  his  household  together 
and  gave  them  his  blessing. 

Taking  the  hand  of  the  bishop  at  parting,  I  could  not  for- 


198  A    WEDDING  SCENE.  [1846 

bear  expressing  my  impressions.  It  was  then  he  told  me  the 
number  of  communicants  he  had  among  his  people — a  large 
proportion  j  I  do  not  recollect  the  number — whose  Christian 
walk,  he  said,  compared  with  that  of  any  equal  number  of 
white  persons,  was  as  generally  consistent ;  and  he  added 
that,  in  the  cabins  of  many,  prayers  were  said  with  as  much 
regularity  as  in  his  own  family. 

To  this  let  me  add  another  incident,  which  I  heard  from 
the  lips  of  the  bishop  himself.  An  aged  and  sick  servant — I 
believe  a  favorite  with  his  master — having  an  impression  that 
his  end  was  near,  sent  to  ask  the  bishop  to  come  and  see  him. 
The  cabin  was  already  well  filled  with  the  fellow- servants  of 
the  dying  man.  The  master  approached  the  bedside,  and, 
after  some  conversation,  inquired  if  he  would  like  to  have 
prayers  offered.  Looking  around  the  company,  and  recogniz- 
ing one  in  whose  personal  piety  he  had  the  greatest  confidence, 
the  bishop  requested  him  to  lead  in  the  devotion.  The  prayer 
offered  on  the  occasion  was  so  simple,  earnest,  reverential,  and 
appropriate,  and,  though  delivered  in  the  rude  terms  of  an 
uneducated  servant,  so  expressive  of  the  truth  and  power  of 
Christian  experience,  that  upon  his  way  back  to  his  own  house, 
the  passage  of  Scripture,  "  The  first  shall  be  last  and  the  last 
first,"  was  continually  forcing  itself  upon  the  reflections  of  the 
master. 

We  cannot  forbear  adding  to  these  sketches  the  fol- 
lowing recollections  by  one  of  his  daughters : 

The  greatest  efforts  were  made  by  the  bishop  to  preserve 
among  his  servants  the  sanctity  of  family  life.  Their  wed- 
dings were  always  celebrated  in  his  own  home;  the  broad 
hall  was  decorated  for  the  occasion  with  evergreens  and  flow- 
ers, and  illuminated  with  many  lights.  The  bride  and  groom 
(all  decked  in  wedding  garments  presented  by  Mrs.  Polk), 
with  their  attendants,  were  ushered  quietly  into  their  master's 
presence.  The  honor  coveted  by  the  bishop's  children,  and 
given  as  the  reward  of  good  behavior,  was  to  hold  aloft  the 
silver  candlesticks  while  their  father  read  the  marriage  ser- 


Mt.  40]  CARE  OF  A  PLANTATION,  199 

vice.  A  wedding-supper  always  followed  (in  a  large  room 
used  on  such  occasions,  where  were  spread  every  variety  of 
meats,  cakes,  and  sweets,  provided  by  the  master  and  mistress), 
after  which  all  invited  guests  joined  the  bride  and  groom  in 
making  merry,  to  the  sound  of  "  fiddle,  banjo,  and  bones,"  until 
the  small  hours  of  the  night.  If  the  couple  had  misbehaved, 
they  were  compelled  to  atone  for  it  by  marriage.  In  that 
case  there  was  no  display,  but  the  guilty  pair  were  sum- 
moned from  the  field,  and  in  their  working-clothes,  in  the 
study,  without  flowers  or  candles,  were  made  husband  and 
wife. 

The  children  of  the  servants  were  well  cared  for.  A  day- 
nursery  was  established  under  the  charge  of  good  nurses. 
This  department  Mrs.  Polk  was  particularly  interested  in. 
Every  Monday  morning  the  head  nurse,  with  her  assistants, 
was  required  to  bring  the  children  to  be  inspected  by  Mrs. 
Polk,  who  examined  carefully  into  the  condition  of  each  child, 
and  had  a  gift  of  the  much-prized  beaten  biscuit  and  tea- 
cakes  for  them  all. 

All  departments  that  tended  to  the  well-being  of  the  ser- 
vants were  looked  into.  Those  women  who  were  unable  to 
work  in  the  field  were  assigned  to  duty  as  seamstresses.  The 
work-room  was  in  one  end  of  a  large  building  set  apart  as  a 
hospital.  Here  the  head  nurse,  who  had  been  carefully  in- 
structed by  her  mistress  in  cutting  and  sewing,  as  well  as  in 
the  care  of  the  sick,  superintended  the  making  of  clothing  for 
the  field-hands.  Others  again,  too  old  to  undertake  sewing, 
did  the  knitting  for  the  hands ;  each  had  her  cards  and  spin- 
ning-wheel, with  which  she  soon  changed  the  raw  material 
into  soft,  smooth  yarn.  The  hospital  was  a  large,  well- venti- 
lated building,  divided  into  male  and  female  wards;  here 
everything  that  contributed  to  the  comfort  of  the  sick  was 
provided,  and  the  wards  when  occupied  were  daily  inspected 
by  either  the  bishop  or  Mrs.  Polk. 

During  all  the  year,  except  in  the  sugar-making  season  of 
three  months,  the  field-servants  had  each  week  a  certain  task 
allotted  them  ;  as  soon  as  that  was  completed  their  time  was 
their  own.     Each  family  had  its  hen-house  and  garden,  and 


200  FINANCIAL   TROUBLES.  [1846 

seed  to  plant  for  their  own  use  ;  the  industrious  always  had 
good  gardens,  the  products  of  which  they  could  convert  into 
money  if  they  chose ;  frequently  offerings  of  the  first-fruits 
were  brought  to  "  Marster  and  Mistiss,"  for  which  they  were 
duly  compensated.  A  large  plantation-garden  was  cultivated 
by  the  older  men,  too  old  for  field-hands,  but  who  had  to  be 
employed.  The  vegetables,  fresh  from  the  garden,  were  taken 
each  day  to  the  plantation  kitchen,  where  good  cooks  prepared 
the  meals  for  the  field-hands.  These  women  were  held  re- 
sponsible for  the  food  being  well  cooked  and  in  sufficient 
quantities  to  satisfy  the  best  appetites. 

But,  as  a  close  friend  of  Mrs.  Polk  has  but  too  truly 
written, — 

Leighton  proved  an  extensive  and  expensive  estate.  Sugar- 
planting  is  a  costly  process.  Close  management  is  necessary, 
and  the  master's  watchful  eye.  A  succession  of  bad  seasons, 
with  low  prices,  began  the  destruction  of  the  fortune  which 
they  had  brought  into  the  State.  Necessarily  the  bishop  was 
often  absent  from  home,  riding  through  the  wilds  of  Arkan- 
sas or  the  swamps  of  Louisiana.  If  the  two  were  incompati- 
ble, his  private  interests  suffered,  not  his  public  duties.  It 
was  an  easy  device  to  borrow  money  on  so  ample  a  security. 
Newer  machinery,  better  seasons,  must  bring  great  returns. 
He  never  exacted  his  salary.  On  the  contrary,  out  of  his  own 
resources  he  nourished  the  struggling  churches  over  which  he 
was  God's  overseer.  Given  to  hospitality,  his  door  was  open 
to  wayfarers  of  all  degrees. 

All  that  was  possible  of  his  burdens  his  wife  assumed. 
She  rose  up  early  in  the  morning,  gave  meat  to  her  house- 
hold, and  apportioned  the  tasks  of  her  maidens.  As  to  con- 
sidering fields,  selling,  not  buying  them,  would  have  proved 
the  superior  wisdom  of  this  latter-day  mother  in  Israel.  She 
witnessed  the  gradual  wasting  away  of  their  property  with- 
out the  possibility  of  prevention. 

Let  us  quote  again  from  the  faithful  "Mammy,"  who,  like 
all  her  race,  gloried  in  the  past  splendors  of  the  house  to 


Mt.  40]  "SLOW  courage:'  201 

which  she  belonged.  When  their  fortunes  were  fallen  it 
soothed  her  pride  to  prove  that  it  was  by  no  fault  of  theirs, 
but  by  fatality.  "  While  old  master  was  off  on  the  Lord's 
business,  the  plantation  was  run  by  young  gentlemen.  Ex- 
perimenting and  lavishing  did  it.  My  old  mistress  saw  it, — 
of  course  she  did, — but  she  couldn't  turn  overseer.  The  lit- 
tle while  the  bishop  could  be  at  home  she  made  it  pleasant 
for  him.  Nobody  ever  heard  her  say  a  word.  She  did  all 
her  fretting  inside.  The  most  I  ever  saw  was  when  business 
was  being  talked  on  the  piazza.  After  she  had  listened  she 
would  come  into  her  own  room  and  sit  placid,  and  then  give 
a  long  sigh.  We  were  both  thinking  how  the  children's 
chances  were  slipping  away." 

That  this  was  a  true  interpretation  of  her  mistress's  thoughts 
is  proven  by  this  extract  from  a  letter  to  one  of  her  married 
daughters,  written  in  those  dark  days  following  the  war :  "  I 
have  grown  older  within  these  few  months  since  I  left  you 
than  for  years  before.  Sometimes  I  think  it  is  because  I  real- 
ize more  fully  than  ever  that  if  I  had  done  my  duty  you 
would  all  have  been  better  off  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view. 
I  am  therefore  responsible  for  all  the  evil  consequences  re- 
sulting from  the  poverty  of  my  children,  for  I  have  not  the 
consolation  of  thinking  that  I  acted  for  the  best.  I  felt  that 
I  was  doing  wrong  at  the  time,  and  I  have  never  felt  other- 
wise. 

u  I  must  not  dwell  mournfully  upon  the  past,  or  recall  too 
often  poor  John  Randolph  and  the  card  on  which  he  had 
written  ' Remorse!'  (unavailing  regret)." 

Like  all  powerful  men,  the  bishop  was  full  of  hopefulness 
He  had  never  known  any  circumstances  with  which  he  was 
unable  to  cope.  If  matters  went  wrong,  as  soon  as  he  turned 
his  attention  to  them  he  would  right  them.  Born  to  fortune, 
strong  and  self-reliant,  he  was  naturally  proof  against  the 
fears  and  auguries  which  oppressed  his  wife.  No  doubt,  too, 
his  optimism  influenced  her,  and  thus  action  was  deferred 
until  too  late. 

The  same  close  observer  already  cited  bears  witness  to 
the  "slow  courage"  with  which  her  mistress  acted  her  part. 


202  PATRIARCHAL  DAYS.  [1846 

"  Nothing  living  was  neglected.  She  had  to  be  satisfied  about 
everybody  and  everything  down  to  the  very  dogs  about  the 
place."  The  life  of  the  mistress  in  those  patriarchal  days 
was  not  one  of  ease.  As  soon  as  the  breakfast  was  over  and 
the  day's  supplies  distributed,  the  many  guests  of  the  house 
were  left  for  a  while  to  their  own  devices  while  she  made 
the  rounds  of  the  quarters, — that  is,  the  village  containing 
the  cabins  of  the  field  negroes.  The  sick  were  visited,  and  the 
proper  food  and  medicine  for  them  were  set  apart.  Then  the 
nurse-house,  where  the  little  children  were  cared  for  by  the 
elder  women,  was  inspected.  Daily  those  who  could  walk 
were  brought  out  for  exercise  as  far  as  the  back  door  of  the 
"  big  house,"  as  they  termed  the  master's  residence,  and  there 
the  mistress  gave  each  a  biscuit,  and  sometimes  with  it  a  word 
of  kindly  admonition.  Then  she  bestowed  a  general  super- 
intendence upon  the  room  where  the  regular  seamstresses 
and  the  delicate  women  cut  out  and  made  the  clothing  which 
was  always  prepared  in  advance  for  plantation  use.  Later  in 
the  morning  Mrs.  Polk  went  into  the  school-room,  where  her 
children  were  at  work  under  their  governess.  With  swift 
fingers  she  plied  her  knitting-needles  while  she  sat  listening 
to  the  instruction  given  them.  Often  a  quick,  pungent  re- 
mark from  her  added  something  never  to  be  forgotten  to  the 
day's  quota  of  knowledge.  She  kept  up  a  voluminous  corre- 
spondence, which  would  have  overtaxed  a  less  systematic 
woman.  She  had  no  patience  with  those  who  find  in  their 
pleasant  engagements  a  pretext  for  neglecting  the  small, 
sweet  courtesies  of  life.  The  young  people  about  her  who 
were  inclined  to  defer  paying  visits  and  replying  to  letters 
knew  they  would  hear  her  rebuke,  "What!  you  have  not 
leisure  or  wisdom  to  make  and  to  keep  friends  f  "  Her  after- 
noons were  given  up  to  receiving  and  making  visits,  always 
a  heavy  demand  upon  one's  time  in  a  country  neighborhood. 
Brought  up  in  the  good  old  idea  that  no  moment  must  be 
unoccupied,  Mrs.  Polk  became  very  skillful  in  all  arts  of  the 
needle,  at  least  those  which  could  be  carried  on  mechanically, 
with  little  demand  upon  the  eyesight.  The  last  note  from  her 
to  a  kind  neighbor,  written  when  she  was  "such  an  one  as 


m.43]      THE  BEGINNING   OF  SORROWS.  203 

Paul  the  aged,"  was  valued  enough  to  be  preserved,  and  it 
marks  the  only  limit  to  her  industry : 

"  My  dear  Mrs.  S :  I  regret  that  I  could  not  return  the 

little  squares  at  an  earlier  day,  and  I  hope  that  it  will  occa- 
sion Mrs.  C no  inconvenience.   Nothing  would  have  given 

me  greater  pleasure  in  former  days  than  to  copy  them,  but, 
alas !  '  those  that  look  out  of  the  windows  are  darkened,'  and 
such  employments  are  forbidden.  With  regards  to  the  ladies, 
believe  me,  yours  truly,  F.  A.  Polk." 

She  was  an  insatiable  reader,  and  required  of  herself  and  of 
all  around  her  that  they  should  keep  well  up  with  the  litera- 
ture of  the  day.  An  open  book  lay  ever  on  her  work-table, 
and  if  conversation  degenerated  into  gossip,  a  swift  reminder 
would  come  that  it  was  there  ready  for  use.  Friend  after 
friend,  child  after  child  would  take  it  up  and  read  aloud  to 
her.  Racy  commentaries  repaid  them  richly.  She  was  a 
woman  who  thought,  and,  having  the  courage  of  her  convic- 
tions when  she  reached  them,  she  enunciated  them  in  pithy 
phrases,  not  molded  on  the  common  plan,  nor  easily  for- 
gotten. But  the  responsibilities  and  anxieties,  more  than  the 
labors  of  such  days,  gradually  told  upon  her  health  and  spirits. 
She  grew  thinner  and  paler.  The  expression  of  her  face  was 
one  of  subdued  sadness.  In  another  of  her  letters  to  a  mar- 
ried daughter  she  admits:  "Your  father  used  sometimes  to 
get  out  of  patience  with  me  for  my  fondness  for  Burns's  '  Man 
was  made  to  mourn/  and  *  I  weary  am  I  know,  and  the 
weary  long  for  rest '  j  but  one  does  get  so  weary  when  not 
strong." 

The  beginning  of  sorrows  came  in  1849,  when  cholera 
swept  over  the  plantation,  causing  the  death  of  over  one 
hundred  of  the  negroes.  Of  this  visitation  the  bishop 
wrote  to  Mrs.  Raynor  briefly  as  follows,  characteristically 
forgetting  to  mention  that  he  himself  bad  had  a  danger- 
ous attack  of  the  disease : 


204  CHOLERA.  [1849 

You  have  heard,  I  presume,  through  your  sister's  letters,  of 
our  late  trouble  and  sickness.  During  the  presence  of  the 
disease  we  were  absolutely  so  occupied  as  hardly  to  have  a 
moment  for  anything  but  attention  to  the  sick  and  dying,  so 
could  do  nothing  in  the  way  of  advising  our  friends  of  our 
condition.  Such  a  visitation  must  be  seen  in  order  to  be 
realized.  Of  all  the  population  on  my  place,  white  and  black, 
amounting  to  over  four  hundred  souls,  I  suppose  there  were 
not  more  than,  say,  fifty  who  did  not  have  the  disease.  We 
lost  one  hundred  and  six,  among  them  some  of  our  best 
people.  You  will  regret  to  hear  that  our  old  friend,  Jeff,  was 
of  the  number.  He  died  as  a  Christian  would  desire  to  die, 
at  his  post.  He  was  of  great  service  as  a  nurse,  and  was  most 
faithful. 

In  her  notes  Mrs.  Polk  writes  somewhat  more  fully  of 
the  cholera  and  its  consequences,  but  omits  mention  of 
her  own  part  in  the  ordeal ;  but  fortunately  we  know 
that  during  this  terrible  scourge  she  devoted  every  mo- 
ment during  the  day,  unless  needed  absolutely  by  her 
own  sick  children,  to  their  wants.  For  five  long  weeks 
she  took  her  place  at  the  hospital  every  morning  directly 
after  breakfast,  nor  did  she  leave  until  late  in  the  even- 
ing, spending  her  time  in  going  from  bedside  to  bedside 
trying  to  soothe  and  comfort  the  sick  and  dying :  whilst 
the  bishop  went  from  house  to  house,  encouraging  and 
brightening  by  his  presence;  always  near  the  dying, 
praying  fervently  for  the  departing  spirit ;  neither  mas- 
ter nor  mistress  ever  taking  but  a  few  short  hours'  rest 
at  a  time  during  those  fearful  weeks  of  suffering  and 
death.     Mrs.  Polk  in  her  notes  says : 

The  cholera  appeared  in  our  neighborhood  in  the  winter 
of  1848-49.  Great  pains  were  taken  by  my  husband  to  pre- 
serve the  health  of  the  negroes  by  clothing  them  in  flannel  and 
having  their  quarters  under  extraordinary  police  and  sanitary 
regulations.    He  made  a  visitation  on  the  Mississippi  River 


Mi.  43]  "I  CAN  DIE  IN  PEACE"  205 

below  New  Orleans,  and  returned  to  the  city  for  the  purpose 
of  holding  the  spring  confirmation  services  in  the  churches 
there,  and  to  preside  over  the  annual  diocesan  convention. 
One  evening  he  called  upon  Mr.  James  Robb,  who  sent  for  his 
trunk  and  insisted  that  the  bishop  should  remain  with  him 
during  his  visit  to  the  city.  It  was  fortunate  that  he  con- 
sented to  do  so,  as  he  was  taken  ill  with  the  cholera  during 
the  night,  and  probably  owed  his  life  to  the  devotion  of  Mr. 
James  Robb,  who  watched  over  him  with  unwearied  attention, 
seemed  forewarned  of  every  want,  and  enforced  in  person  the 
order  of  the  physician  for  complete  quiet  to  the  patient,  by 
waiting  in  an  anteroom  to  receive  all  visitors.  Before  the 
bishop  recovered  from  this  attack,  the  cholera  appeared  in 
our  place.  The  first  cases  were  on  the  11th  day  of  May,  1849. 
In  a  few  hours  five  deaths  occurred.  The  best  medical  skill 
was  obtained ;  but  medicine  and  attention  seemed  powerless. 
In  five  weeks  seventy -six  souls  were  hurried  into  eternity ; 
thirty  other  persons  were  so  enfeebled  and  prostrated  that  they 
all  died  within  three  weeks.  Some  of  the  bishop's  family  were 
also  ill  of  the  disease,  and  barely  escaped  with  their  lives.  At 
one  period  of  the  epidemic,  of  the  three  hundred  and  ninety- 
six  negroes  on  the  place,  there  were  not  enough  well  to  take 
care  of  the  sick. 

As  soon  as  the  bishop  was  able, — indeed,  at  a  risk  of  a 
relapse, — he  was  at  the  bedside  of  the  sick  and  dying,  to 
nurse,  to  comfort,  and  to  cheer.  The  last  case  of  the  cholera 
occurred  on  the  7th  of  June,  when  a  very  fine  servant  named 
Wright,  by  trade  a  blacksmith,  was  attacked.  His  master  had 
been  reading  and  praying  with  him.  Wright  raised  his  head, 
and  said,  "  Master,  lift  me  up."  "  I  am  afraid  to,  Wright," 
the  bishop  replied ;  "  the  doctors  say  it  may  be  fatal."  "  I  am 
dying  now,  master;  lift  me  up."  The  bishop  raised  him, 
when  Wright  suddenly  threw  his  arms  around  his  master's 
neck,  and  exclaimed,  "  Now,  master,  I  can  die  in  peace.  I  do 
love  you  so  I  have  often  wanted  to  hug  you,  and  now  let  me 
die  with  my  head  on  your  breast  and  you  praying  for  me." 
His  wish  was  complied  with,  and  soon  he  was  at  rest. 

The  crop  was,  of  course,  not  worked,  as  there  were  no  hands 


206  ^    TERRIBLE   TORNADO.  [1850 

able  for  weeks  to  be  in  the  field.  Instead  of  the  usual  corn- 
crop  being  made,  corn  had  to  be  bought  from  the  first  of 
August,  and  the  cane  was  greatly  injured  for  want  of  work. 
The  crop  did  not  pay  the  expenses,  which  this  year  exceeded 
$50,000.  The  debt  was  not,  of  course,  reduced.  It  had  been 
our  hope  that  the  crop  would  have  paid  it  entirely,  or  at  least 
reduced  it  to  within  a  few  thousand  dollars.  But  it  was  God's 
doing.  The  bishop's  health  was  so  broken  that  he  went  North 
with  our  son,  and  was  absent  some  two  months,  the  rest  of 
our  family  remaining  on  the  Bayou. 

The  affliction  of  1849  was  followed  by  another  heavy 
loss  in  1850,  of  which  Mrs.  Polk  has  given  the  following 
account : 

In  May  of  this  year  (1850)  the  Diocesan  Convention  met  at 
Thibodeaux.  The  business  over,  the  bishop  invited  the  mem- 
bers to"  dine  at  his  house.  While  at  dinner,  one  of  those  dread- 
ful tornadoes,  so  common  in  the  South  and  West  at  this  sea- 
son, took  place.  The  glass  in  the  windows,  even  the  dishes 
on  the  table,  were  broken  by  enormous  hailstones ;  the  floor 
was  covered  with  them.  The  sugar-house,  valued  at  $75,000, 
was  destroyed.  The  stables  of  the  plantation  and  several 
negro-cabins  shared  a  like  fate.  In  a  moment  the  labor  of 
years  was  destroyed,  the  crops  ruined,  and  injuries  to  the 
amount  of  $100,000  inflicted  upon  us.  This  was  God's  work. 
The  bishop  bore  it  with  his  usual  cheerful  submission.  He 
regretted,  in  view  of  his  losses  by  the  cholera  of  the  year  be- 
fore, and  of  the  present  calamity,  of  which  the  body  of  the 
convention  were  eyewitnesses,  that  no  provision  had  been 
made  by  the  diocese  for  his  support ;  but  he  said  nothing  to 
any  member  on  the  subject. 

A  gentleman  who  at  that  time  lived  on  an  adjoining 
plantation,  and  who  had  been  invited,  with  his  wife,  to 
meet  the  members  of  the  Diocesan  Convention  at  the 
dinner  to  which  Mrs.  Polk  refers,  thus  describes  the 
storm  which  wrought  such  havoc : 


Mt.  44]  A  DISASTROUS  SEASON.  207 

The  clouds  were  so  threatening  we  did  not  venture  out ;  the 
vehicle  and  horses  were  taken  back  to  shelter.  It  was  well 
we  remained.  Soon  we  heard  the  sound  of  an  approaching 
storm,  which  struck  us  with  consternation.  It  was  upon  us  in 
a  moment.  It  seemed  as  if  the  house  —  a  very  strong  one, 
built  flat  as  if  for  such  an  encounter  —  would  be  leveled  to 
the  ground.  Then  came  the  hail,  a  frightful  shower  of  it,  a 
tempest  of  huge  missiles  that  lasted  perhaps  fifteen  minutes, 
although  it  seemed  an  age.  The  outer  shutters  were  thrown 
open  by  its  violence,  every  exposed  pane  of  glass  in  the  win- 
dows was  broken,  the  floors  were  covered  with  hail,  and  we 
were  compelled,  for  very  fear  of  life,  to  keep  out  of  the  way 
of  the  shower  of  stones  which  went  through  and  through  the 
house.  It  was  a  scene  of  terror  not  to  be  shaken  off  the 
memory  in  a  lifetime.  It  should  be  mentioned,  as  character- 
istic of  the  though  tfulness  of  the  family  at  Leighton,  that 
despite  the  dismay,  the  destruction,  the  attention  due  numer- 
ous guests,  and  the  general  confusion  of  the  moment, — within 
twenty  minutes  after  the  storm  had  spent  its  wrath  upon  us, 
a  messenger  rode  to  our  door  from  that  plantation  to  inquire 
how  we  had  fared  in  the  perils  through  which  we  had  just 


The  effect  of  the  storm  on  the  bishop's  fortunes,  and 
the  complete  disaster  which  ensued,  are  thus  described 
by  Mrs.  Polk : 

The  bishop  went  this  fall  (1850)  to  the  General  Convention, 
which  met  at  Cincinnati.  The  winter  was  passed,  as  usual,  in 
visiting  portions  of  the  diocese.  Owing  to  the  lateness  of  the 
season,  when  the  work  of  rebuilding  began,  the  sugar-house 
was  not  completed  in  time.  Meanwhile  the  frost,  which  was 
unusually  early,  had  seriously  injured  the  cane,  so  that  not 
over  a  third  of  an  average  crop  was  made.  To  all  this  the 
bishop  only  said:  "I  have  done  all  I  could.  I  must  leave  the 
future  in  God's  hands.  If  he  sends  this  trouble,  it  is  his 
will.  *  Let  him  do  what  seemeth  to  him  good.'  '  Though  he 
slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  him.' " 


208  LEIGHTON  SACRIFICED.  [1854 

In  the  spring  of  1851,  the  bishop,  under  the  advice  of  a  friend, 
determined  to  discharge  his  indebtedness  in  Tennessee  by 
raising  money  on  his  property,  and  placed  the  funds  in  the 
hands  of  a  broker  to  satisfy  an  obligation  held  by  the  Bank 
of  Tennessee.  A  few  days  after,  the  broker  stopped  payment, 
having,  in  the  interval,  appropriated  this  trust  money  to  his 
own  use.  Under  a  statute  of  Louisiana  this  was  a  grave 
penal  offense,  and  the  offender  was  subject  to  be  imprisoned 
in  the  penitentiary.  The  bishop  would  not  prosecute  him,  as 
he  considered  there  was  no  intention  to  defraud.  This  was 
the  finishing  stroke  to  our  fortune. 

While  the  bishop's  private  fortunes  were  falling  into 
decay,  his  episcopal  work  was  prospering.  In  1842  he 
had  found  but  two  church  buildings  and  five  clergymen 
in  the  diocese  of  Louisiana;  at  the  Diocesan  Conven- 
tion of  1853  twenty-one  parishes  were  represented,  and 
twenty-five  clergymen  took  part  in  the  proceedings.  In 
the  autumn  of  that  year  a  third  misfortune  befell  him. 
The  yellow  fever,  which  had  become  epidemic  in  New 
Orleans,  extended  its  ravages  to  the  interior  and  along 
the  banks  of  Bayou  La  Fourche.  The  mortality  was  very 
great.  The  bishop  himself  was  absent  in  attendance  at 
the  General  Convention  when  he  received  information 
that  two  of  his  children  and  several  of  his  negroes  had 
been  attacked,  and,  obtaining  leave  of  absence  from  the 
House  of  Bishops,  he  instantly  returned  home.  Hap- 
pily an  early  frost  occurred,  the  disease  abated,  and  he 
passed  the  winter  in  his  usual  visitations.  In  the  spring 
of  1854  he  had  fully  satisfied  himself  that  the  reve- 
nues of  his  plantation  would  be  insufficient  to  discharge 
the  heavy  debts  which  had  accumulated  against  him. 
Accordingly  he  considered  it  his  duty  to  tender  the  prop- 
erty to  his  creditors,  and,  after  a  series  of  negotiations, 
Leighton  passed  from  his  possession.     Only  a  fraction 


JEt.  48]        REMOVAL   TO  NEW  ORLEANS.  209 

of  Mrs.  Polk's  property  remained.  Cotton  lands  were 
purchased  in  Bolivar  County,  Mississippi,  and  the  com- 
paratively few  servants  were  transferred  to  that  place. 
In  the  autumn  of  1854  yellow  fever  again  appeared  on 
Bayou  La  Fourche,  and  many  neighbors  of  the  bishop 
were  among  its  victims.  He  was  unremitting  in  his 
devotion  to  the  sick  and  dying,  and  was  himself  taken 
with  the  fever.  Upon  his  recovery  he  prepared  to  leave 
Leighton  for  New  Orleans,  where  he  had  resolved  to 
make  his  future  home. 

The  diocese  was  not  wholly  unmindful  of  its  obliga- 
tions to  its  chief  pastor.  For  thirteen  years  he  had 
served  it  virtually  without  compensation,  but  in  1853  an 
effort  was  made  to  raise  an  endowment  of  $50,000  for 
his  support,  and  his  salary  as  bishop  was  settled  at 
$4000  per  annum.  On  his  removal  to  New  Orleans  he 
accepted  the  rectorship  of  Trinity  Church,  with  the 
understanding  that  the  work  of  the  parish,  during  his 
necessary  absences  on  episcopal  visitations,  should  be 
carried  on  by  a  competent  assistant.  Thus,  for  the  first 
time  in  his  life,  Bishop  Polk  was  permanently  settled  in 
a  great  city,  and  from  subsequent  experience  it  might 
safely  be  concluded  that  he  ought  always  to  have  lived 
there.  From  the  moment  of  his  settlement  in  New 
Orleans  his  influence  was  universally  recognized.  The 
position  of  the  Church  was  strengthened.  Its  mission- 
ary energies  were  multiplied.  Nothing  but  time  seemed 
to  be  wanting  for  an  almost  unprecedented  growth  of 
the  work  under  his  charge. 

Through  all  his  losses — and  all  the  more  perhaps  be- 
cause he  saw  his  private  fortune  vanishing  away — his 
thoughts  and  cares  had  gone  out  to  the  great  work  for 
the  Church  and  world  which  the  very  loss  of  his  fortune 
made  him  free  to  undertake.     It  was  during  those  dis- 


210  THE   UNIVERSITY  IDEA.  [1854 

astrous  years  that  he  began  to  entertain  the  project  of 
establishing  a  great  university  in  the  southern  States. 
How  this  idea  grew  in  him  until  it  reached  the  ultimate 
form  with  which  his  name  will  always  be  connected,  has 
been  thus  described  by  Mrs.  Polk : 

I  remember  few  incidents  of  the  winter  of  1849-50  ex- 
cept that  I  now,  for  the  first  time,  heard  my  husband  speak 
of  his  wish  to  establish  a  university  which  should  enlist  the 
sympathy  of  all  the  States.  Some  time  before  he  went  to 
Louisiana,  that  State  had  appropriated  $1,500,000  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  three  colleges, — one  at  Jackson,  one  at  Opelou- 
sas,  and  one  in  the  parish  of  St.  James.  This  sum  had  been 
spent  mainly  in  the  buildings.  The  schools,  after  a  brief 
struggle,  had  ceased  to  exist,  and  the  school  buildings  had 
been  disposed  of, — the  Jackson  institution  to  the  Methodists, 
the  Opelousas  to  the  Romanists  j  that  in  St.  James  was  offered 
to  my  husband  for  $50,000.  At  one  time  he  thought  of  pur- 
chasing it  for  the  diocese,  but,  on  making  himself  more  fa- 
miliar with  the  wishes  of  the  people,  he  ascertained  that  there 
was  a  general  desire  to  have  the  children  spend  the  years  of 
their  college  life  in  a  colder  climate.  He  then  thought  of 
purchasing  the  college  building  and  grounds  in  St.  James  out 
of  his  private  means,  and  removing  there;  but  the  heavy 
losses  entailed  by  the  cholera  visitation  prevented  more  than 
the  thought.  Soon  afterward  these  college  buildings  were 
burned.  But  the  plan  of  a  great  university  was  constantly  in 
his  thoughts ;  he  frequently  spoke  of  it  to  me,  and  began  to 
collect  materials  to  enable  him  to  bring  the  project  before  the 
public. 

In  the  spring  of  1852  he  began  to  collect  information  rela- 
tive to  the  educational  system  of  England,  France,  and 
Prussia,  and  to  consult  with  some  of  his  friends  on  the  feasi- 
bility of  founding  a  University  of  the  South.  Two  months 
were  spent  with  me  at  the  North,  my  health  having  become 
very  bad.  "We  returned  in  the  fall.  The  winter  was  passed 
as  usual,  the  bishop  visiting  various  parts  of  the  diocese,  and 
the  family  and  myself  remaining  on  the  plantation. 


Mt.  48]        THE  BISHOP'S  PERSONALITY.  211 

Of  Bishop  Polk's  pastoral  and  episcopal  character,  the 
following  account  has  been  furnished,  at  the  request  of 
the  writer,  in  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Fulton.  Speak- 
ing of  his  first  meeting  with  Bishop  Polk,  he  says : 

On  the  22d  day  of  May,  1857, 1  arrived  in  New  Orleans  for 
examination  for  orders,  and  was  taken  to  the  bishop's  honse 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Goodrich,  president  of  the  Standing 
Committee.  Presently  we  heard  a  quick,  firm  step  in  the  hall, 
and  the  bishop  entered.  One  glance  revealed  the  man;  his 
first  address,  the  gentleman;  his  penetrating,  sympathetic 
look,  the  friend  and  father.  He  was  then  over  fifty  years  of 
age,  but  his  clear  complexion,  his  keen,  bright  eye,  and  his 
elastic  step  made  him  appear  not  more  than  forty-six  or  forty- 
eight.  Standing  over  six  feet  in  height,  his  form  was  cast 
in  the  ideal  mold  of  a  soldier.  His  broad  shoulders,  his  lean 
flank,  his  erect  carriage,  and  his  decidedly  military  bearing  pre- 
pared one  for  the  clear,  distinct  voice,  which  never  struck  one 
as  imperious,  but  had  always  a  certain  tone  of  command.  It 
was  a  voice  to  make  itself  heard  amid  the  din  of  battle,  and 
yet  by  the  bedside  of  the  sick  and  dying  it  was  gentle  as  a 
woman's.  As  he  had  a  pressing  engagement,  our  first  inter- 
view was  brief ;  but  in  those  few  minutes  he  contrived,  with- 
out any  appearance  of  haste,  to  ask  every  question  and  pay 
every  attention  that  kindness  or  courtesy  could  suggest,  and 
also  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements  for  my  examination 
and  ordination.  At  the  same  time  I  was  in  some  way  con- 
scious that  an  efe  accustomed  to  observe,  and  gifted  with  the 
insight  of  sympathy,  had  taken  a  quick  and  comprehensive 
observation  of  me.  I  did  not  at  all  feel  that  I  had  been 
scrutinized;  I  did  feel  that  I  was  understood. 

In  two  days  I  was  ordained  deacon  in  Trinity  Church,  of 
which  the  bishop  was  at  that  time  rector.  In  his  robes  he 
appeared  the  ideal  of  a  bishop;  he  was  still  the  soldier,  but 
the  calm,  strong  soldier  of  Christ.  His  air  of  command 
never  left  him,  but  it  was  the  command  of  one  who  felt  that 
he  himself  was  "  under  authority,"  and  in  a  Father's  house. 
Through  all  his  dignity,  the  people  who  looked  upon  him  saw 


212  THE  STANDARD   OF  CHARACTER.         [1854 

that  he  was  one  of  them  and  one  with  them;  and  this  im- 
pression was  aided,  perhaps,  by  two  slight  inaccuracies-  of 
pronunciation, — "toh"  he  said  for  to,  and  "goodniss"  for 
goodness.  With  these  exceptions  his  pronunciation  was  per- 
fect and  his  enunciation  remarkably  distinct.  His  rendering 
of  the  service  was  exceedingly  impressive,  and,  though  wholly 
unstudied,  it  was  intelligent,  reverent,  and  simple.  One  did 
not  think  of  the  reader,  but  of  the  lesson  read.  He  was  not 
an  adept  in  matters  of  ritual,  and  sometimes  confused  the 
rubrics,  not  from  carelessness  or  contempt,  but  rather  from 
preoccupation  with  weightier  matters. 

The  bishop  considered  that  true  pastoral  influence  depended 
mainly  on  personal  character  and  on  the  power  of  personal 
sympathy.  He  was  accustomed  to  dwell  on  these  as  incom- 
parably more  necessary  than  eloquence  in  the  pulpit  or  any 
particular  views  in  theology.  "  Above  all  things,"  he  would 
say,  "  gain  your  people's  confidence,  and  see  that  you  deserve 
it.     Live  the  gospel,  and  you  will  preach  the  gospel." 

He  greatly  disliked  puritanical  professions  of  religion,  and 
insisted  upon  conduct  as  the  criterion  of  piety  in  a  way  that 
would  have  satisfied  Thomas  Arnold.  Once,  when  speaking 
on  this  subject,  I  ventured  to  suggest  that  a  little  more  of 
that  doctrine  would  make  certain  evangelical  theories  a  good 
deal  less  objectionable.  "  The  one  follows  the  other,"  he  re- 
plied. "  Faith  is  a  charger  that  carries  a  man  into  battle,  but 
he  must  fight  when  he  gets  there,  and  then  Faith  will  bear 
him  through  the  fight." 

He  laid  the  greatest  possible  stress  on  the  necessity  of  pre- 
serving and  developing  one's  own  individual  character,  in- 
stead of  striving  to  conform  to  some  other  type  which  one 
may  chance  to  admire.  "  There  is  no  pattern  of  human  life 
worth  following,"  he  said,  "  but  that  of  Christ  himself.  Take 
no  other  for  your  model.  If  you  do,  you  may  rather  acquire 
its  defects  than  its  excellences.  Only  in  him  will  you  find 
nothing  to  avoid ;  only  in  him  will  you  find  all  that  is  needed 
to  correct  and  complete  your  own  life." 

Once,  when  he  had  been  reproving  me  for  something  or 
other,  I  well  remember  the  half -playful  way  in  which  he 


Mt.  48]  PASTORAL  INFLUENCE.  213 

closed  the  conversation.  "  I  would  not  have  you,"  he  said, 
"  be  anybody  but  yourself."  If  the  good  Lord  had  not  some 
use  for  you  in  the  world,  you  would  not  be  here  j  and  if  he 
had  wanted  you  to  be  any  other  sort  of  man,  you  would 
have  been  a  man  of  that  sort,  and  not  the  man  you  are. 
Your  part  is  to  consider  how  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  would 
wish  a  character  like  yours  to  be  developed  and  restrained. 
He  would  not  wish  you  to  be  less  earnest  or  less  enthusiastic, 
for  earnest  enthusiasm  is  a  great  power;  but  he  might  tell 
you  that  it  needs  to  be  directed  with  prudence  and  gravity. 
He  would  not  wish  you  to  be  less  joyous,  but  he  would  surely 
bid  you  guard  against  levity.  In  short,  my  young  friend, 
it  is  good  for  a  man  to  know  what  he  can't  be.  You  can't  — 
and  if  you  could,  you  ought  not  to — be  anybody  but  your- 
self. Only  try  to  be  your  best  self,  your  ideal  self.  Keep 
yourself  well  in  hand.  When  a  man  gives  the  rein  to  his  own 
peculiarities  of  character,  he  is  sure  to  miss  the  purpose  of  his 
life,  and  to  become  a  caricature  of  the  man  God  meant  him 
to  be." 

In  his  pastoral  visiting  the  bishop  was  exceedingly  syste- 
matic. When  beginning  a  round  of  visits  he  would  make 
a  list  of  all  the  families  in  a  particular  district,  arrange  them 
in  a  certain  order,  and  go  through  the  list.  Next  day  he 
would  take  an  adjacent  district,  go  through  that,  and  so  on 
until  he  had  seen  every  family  in  the  parish.  His  method 
in  visiting  was  perfect.  It  was  astonishing  to  see  how  quickly 
he  got  through ;  and  yet,  brief  as  his  visits  were,  they  were 
most  effective.  Before  he  entered  a  house,  he  had  always 
thought  of  every  person  connected  with  the  family;  and  then, 
without  any  forced  turn  of  the  conversation,  he  would  make 
it  known  that  he  had  thought  of  all.  "  Make  it  a  habit,"  he 
said  to  me,  "  to  think  of  your  people.  Bear  them  on  your 
heart,  and  let  them  know  that  you  do  so.  Be  sincerely  in- 
terested in  all  that  concerns  them,  and  let  them  feel  that  you 
are  interested.  That  is  the  secret  of  pastoral  influence."  In 
dealing  with  individuals  he  insisted  on  the  greatest  prudence. 
"  There  is  nothing  so  good,"  he  said,  "as  a  word  in  season; 
but  there  are  few  things  more  likely  to  do  harm  than  good 


214  POWER   OF  REBUKE.  [1854 

words  out  of  season.  Learn  to  wait  for  your  chance.  The 
man  who  seems  callous  to-day  may  be  sensitive  to  your 
lightest  touch  to-morrow,  unless  in  the  meanwhile  you  have 
repelled  him.  Make  it  a  point  to  leave  no  man  further  off 
from  spiritual  things  than  he  was  when  you  met  him;  and 
when  men  are  moved,  be  content  to  carry  them  as  far  as 
they  will  go  freely.  One  step  leads  to  another,  unless  you 
fail  to  use  your  opportunity." 

In  parochial  administration  his  method  was  summed  up 
in  a  few  maxims  such  as  these:  "There  is  a  great  deal  of 
fine  art  in  letting  people  alone."  "It  may  cost  you  more 
labor  to  get  your  people  to  do  a  thing  than  to  do  it  yourself, 
but  it  will  be  worth  more  when  it  is  done."  "  Let  your  work- 
ing-people work  in  their  own  way.  Don't  be  a  martinet. 
People  who  work  have  a  right  to  choose  their  own  way  of 
working,  and  the  way  they  like  will  be  the  easiest  for  them." 
"Make  yourself  felt  rather  than  seen  in  your  people's  work. 
Always  give  them  the  credit  for  what  is  done;  never  take 
it  to  yourself." 

There  was  nothing  in  which  the  bishop  excelled  more,  as  a 
pastor  and  as  a  bishop,  than  in  the  power  of  rebuke.  "Take 
care,"  said  a  clergyman  to  me  shortly  after  I  went  to  New 
Orleans,  "that  the  bishop  does  not  have  to  take  you  in  hand. 
If  he  does,  he  will  make  you  ache  in  every  bone  of  your  spirit- 
ual body.  Experto  crede.  But  when  you  feel  sorest,  you  will 
be  almost  angry  that  you  cannot  be  angry  at  what  he  has  said 
to  you."  I  had  more  than  once  sufficient  opportunity  to  verify 
that  saying.  More  than  once  the  bishop  did  "  take  me  in 
hand,"  and  sore  enough  he  made  me  feel ;  but  he  never  made 
me  angry  nor  failed  to  send  me  away  with  a  deeper  reverence 
for  himself  and  with  a  deeper  longing  for  his  approbation. 
Even  now,  after  so  many  years,  I  cannot  recall  those  inter- 
views without  a  vivid  recollection  of  my  utter  helplessness  in 
the  bishop's  hands.  Later  on  I  learned  that  others  had  had 
the  same  experience ;  but  the  bishop  seemed  always  to  have 
something  particularly  commendatory  to  say  of  every  person 
whom  he  had  had  occasion  to  fault,  and  it  was  only  through 
the  person  himself  that  one  could  learn  anything  about  it. 


^Et.  48]  AN  ANONYMOUS  LETTER.  215 

Occasionally,  however,  the  story  would  get  out  in  some  amus- 
ing way.  In  the  diocese  there  was  a  very  excellent  and  labo- 
rious clergyman,  really  a  fine  fellow,  but  of  a  high-strung, 
nervous  temperament,  and  a  desperate  stickler  for  rubrical 
observances  and  ritual  propriety.  I  have  said  that  in  these 
things  the  bishop  sometimes  made  mistakes ;  and  at  one  of  our 
conventions  I  must  confess  that  the  opening  services  were 
anything  rather  than  in  conformity  with  the  order  of  the 
"  Directorium  Anglicanum.1'  Some  weeks  afterward  there  ap- 
peared in  the  columns  of  a  church  newspaper  a  communication 
signed  "X,"  giving  an  indignant  and«not  very  complimentary 
account  of  the  rubrical  and  ritual  irregularities  of  the  service. 
The  bishop  was  sorely  displeased,  and  spoke  to  me  about  it. 
"  Surely,"  I  said,  "  you  do  not  suspect  me  of  writing  the 
letter  V  "  No,  sir,"  he  replied ;  "you  are  not  the  sort  of  bird 
thai  fouls  its  own  nest ;  but  I  thought  you  might  know  the 
author  of  it."  "  And  if  I  did,  bishop  !  "  "  If  you  did,  sir,"  he 
rejoined,  "I  do  not  love  talebearers;  but  I  shall  find  him  out, 
sir;  I  shall  find  him  out."  "Well,  bishop,  I  have  no  more 
idea  than  you  have  of  the  author  of  that  communication; 
but  I  should  like  to  know  how  you  expect  to  find  him  out." 
"From  himself,  sir,  of  course ;  and  very  soon,  depend  upon  it." 
Very  soon  he  did  find  out.  The  writer,  shortly  afterward, 
was  in  the  bishop's  study,  and  the  bishop  opened  the  subject 
by  observing  that  considerable  interest  had  been  taken  in  the 
question  of  the  authorship  of  the  letter.  The  visitor  felt  that 
the  question  was  addressed  to  himself,  and  naively  betrayed 
himself  by  saying  that  he  supposed  that  the  pseudonym  was 
an  indication  that  the  writer  did  not  wish  to  be  known.  "  I 
should  think  so,"  said  the  bishop;  " and  therefore  I  infer  that 

the  author  is  not  known  to  you,  Mr. ?"     This  was  a  home 

thrust,  and  the  poor  fellow  stammered  out  that  he  certainly 
did  know  the  author,  but  that  he  was  not  prepared  to  give 
any  further  information  on  the  subject  at  that  time.  "And  I 
have  asked  none,"  said  the  bishop.  Thereupon  the  unfortu- 
nate man  was  thoroughly  "taken  in  hand."  The  meanness 
and  cowardice  of  an  anonymous  attack  was  commented  upon  in 
the  blandest  way ;  the  additional  wrong  of  an  assault  upon  a 


216  DEVOTION  TO  DUTY.  [1854 

bishop,  whose  office  forbade  a  reply,  was  duly  observed;  and 
the  impropriety  of  a  clergyman,  who  by  virtue  of  his  office  is 
an  advisor  of  his  bishop,  washing  diocesan  dirty  linen  abroad 
in  the  face  of  the  world,  was  severely  rebuked.  The  poor 
fellow  was  spiritually  broken  on  the  wheel  for  a  long  half- 
hour.  He  had  not  intended  to  do  any  of  those  dreadful 
things,  and  yet,  as  the  bishop  went  on,  he  seemed  to  have 
been  guilty  of  all  of  them.  He  left  the  house  in  a  wretched 
condition.  Before  he  had  gone  far  he  was  taken  with  a 
nervous  chill,  and  reached  the  house  where  he  was  staying 
with  a  fever  on  him.  A  few  hours  later  his  host  went  to  his 
room,  but  paused  on  the  threshold,  hearing  him,  as  he  sup- 
posed, engaged  in  prayer.  It  was  not  prayer,  however,  as  he 
soon  found,  but  the  groaning  utterances  of  mental  distress. 
"  Oh,  that  communication  signed  X!  "  he  moaned.  "  This  is 
certainly  a  judgment  upon  me  for  writing  that  communication. 
If  the  good  Lord  will  only  forgive  me  for  writing  it,  I'll  never 
be  X  any  more ! "  And  he  never  was.  He  was  a  true  Chris- 
tian gentleman,  and  loved  his  bishop  well,  though  he  did  abhor 
and  resent  a  violation  of  the  rubrics. 

A  case  of  fever,  even  such  as  this,  recalls  the  frightful 
scourge  of  yellow  fever  under  which  many  southern  cities 
and  towns  are  suffering  while  I  write  these  lines.  I  was  never 
with  the  bishop  in  an  epidemic,  but  I  have  often  heard  him 
speak  of  his  experiences.  After  he  had  made  his  residence  in 
New  Orleans,  it  was  a  matter  of  course  that  he  should  stand 
by  his  people  in  the  hour  of  danger  and  distress,  without  re- 
gard to  his  own  safety.  During  an  epidemic  he  might  have 
gone  on  visitations  elsewhere;  but  if  he  had  done  so,  he 
would  not  have  been  Leonidas  Polk.  So  he  remained  steadily 
at  his  post  of  duty,  as  brave  men  of  every  Christian  name  have 
always  done,  until  he  was  relieved  from  work  by  an  attack  of 
the  disease. 

The  marvelous  power  of  loving  rebuke  of  which  Dr. 
Fulton  speaks  in  the  foregoing  letter  is  still  further  illus- 
trated by  an  anecdote  which  is  furnished  by  another 
clergyman : 


Mt.  48]        ECCLESIASTICAL  DISCIPLINE.  217 

Bishop  Polk  was  a  man  of  very  decided  opinions,  and, 
though  cautious  perhaps  in  forming  them,  never  hesitated, 
when  there  was  occasion,  to  give  them  expression.  I  have 
always  regarded  him  as  a  conservative  churchman.  He  en- 
tertained high  ideas  of  church  authority.  I  think,  too,  he 
was  very  tenacious  of  episcopal  prerogative,  and  would  never 
allow  the  slightest  infringement  upon  what  he  deemed  its 
proper  claims.  I  have  known  him  in  council  interrupt  de- 
bate, when  he  thought  the  sentiments  of  the  speaker  trenched 
upon  the  episcopal  office.  His  rights  were  asserted  with 
firmness,  but  with  moderation,  nor  was  he  ever  disposed  to 
interfere  with  the  just  liberties  of  his  clergy.  He  sympa- 
thized in  their  struggles,  listened  with  interest  to  the  story 
of  their  trials,  and  gave  them  counsel  as  a  brother  j  nor  was 
there  any  duty  to  which  he  seemed  to  turn  with  greater  re- 
luctance than  that  of  administering  the  discipline  of  the 
church.  He  was  slow  to  credit  rumors  to  the  prejudice  of 
his  brethren,  and,  even  when  offenses  could  not  be  denied, 
he  seemed  to  go  in  search  of  extenuating  circumstances,  as 
one  trying  to  find  something  to  justify  forbearance  or  mod- 
eration in  discipline. 

On  one  occasion  very  serious  offenses  were  charged  against 
a  certain  presbyter  of  the  diocese.  The  committee  appointed 
under  the  canon  to  investigate  the  rumors  reported  their 
opinion  that  sufficient  ground  existed  to  warrant  present- 
ment for  trial  before  an  ecclesiastical  court.  In  order,  how- 
ever, to  avoid  the  scandal  of  such  a  proceeding,  the  offender 
was  willing  to  submit  himself  without  reserve  to  the  disci- 
pline of  the  bishop.  I  can  never  forget  the  solemnity  with 
which  the  judgment  was  pronounced.  The  presbyter  was 
summoned  to  appear  before  the  bishop  in  one  of  the 
churches  in  New  Orleans.  Some  eight  or  ten  of  the  clergy 
were  present  in  the  chancel.  The  bishop  was  seated  in  his 
chair,  clothed  with  his  robes  of  office,  the  other  clergy  with 
theirs.  Outside  the  chancel  rail,  before  the  altar,  stood  the 
penitent  offender.  None  others  were  permitted  within  the 
church.  The  stillness  of  the  room  seemed  to  add  impres- 
siveness  to  the   scene.    A  few  collects  were  offered,  after 


218  SYMPATHY  FOB   THE  EBBING.  [1854 

which  the  bishop  from  his  place  addressed  the  guilty  pres- 
byter, briefly  recapitulating  his  offenses  and  expressing 
their  culpability.  He  read  the  judgment  from  a  manuscript 
which  was  spread  before  him.  His  manner  was  very  grave, 
his  voice  low,  sometimes  wavering  with  emotion,  yet  per- 
fectly distinct.  It  was  evident  that  he  was  much  moved. 
Every  clergyman  present  felt  the  unusual  solemnity  of  the 
occasion.  The  offending  presbyter  covered  his  face,  and 
could  not  conceal  his  anguish.  The  judgment  having  been 
pronounced,  we  all  knelt  once  more  in  prayer,  after  which 
the  bishop  rose,  and  extended  his  hand  to  the  man  whom 
he  had  just  suspended  from  ecclesiastical  office,  who  grasped 
it  with  tears  in  his  eyes  ;  the  clergy  followed  the  example  of 
their  bishop,  and  the  offender  was  made  to  feel  that  among 
his  peers,  and  in  the  heart  of  his  ecclesiastical  superior,  there 
was  no  lack  of  sympathy  for  the  infirmities  of  an  erring 
brother. 

But  we  must  leave  these  personal  reminiscences. 
While  caring  for  his  parish,  which  was  one  of  the  largest 
in  the  diocese,  and  administering  the  affairs  of  a  rapidly 
growing  diocese,  Bishop  Polk  believed  that  the  time  had 
come  for  him  to  undertake  the  work  of  founding  a  great 
university  for  the  southern  States,  and,  from  the  com- 
manding position  which  he  now  held  in  New  Orleans,  he 
set  about  that  work  with  characteristic  energy.  * 

1  At  the  burning  of  Bishop  Polk's  house  in  1861  all  the  letters  which 
he  had  written  Mrs.  Polk  since  their  marriage  were  destroyed.  The  loss 
has  been  greatly  felt  in  the  preparation  of  this  and  the  preceding  chap- 
ter, as  the  letters  contained  many  allusions  to  persons  and  incidents 
connected  with  Bishop  Polk's  life  in  the  Southwest,  particularly  in  the 
Republic  of  Texas.  The  official  record  of  bis  life  during  this  period 
appears  in  the  files  of  the  "  Spirit  of  Missions,"  in  the  proceedings  of 
the  conventions  of  the  dioceses  of  Louisiana,  and  in  the  "  History  of  the 
Dioceses  of  Louisiana,"  by  the  Rev.  Herman  E.  Duncan. 


Unproved  ~by  Whv.S curtain. 


BISHOP    OF  LOUISIANA,    18  52 


CHAPTER  VI. 

UNIVERSITY  OF  THE   SOUTH. 
1854  TO  1861. 

Inception  of  the  idea. — Nobility  of  the  university  system. —  Early  Amer- 
ican literature. —  Southern  educational  deficiencies. —  Thoroughness  of 
Bishop  Polk's  plans. —  Dangers  of  unrestricted  immigration. — Views 
on  extension  of  slavery. —  The  Kansas  question. — The  Church  in  the 
South. —  Expected  benefits  to  the  negro  race.  —  Other  southern  univer- 
sities.—  Magnificence  of  the  scheme. —  Family  influences  for  the  stu- 
dents.—  Climatic  advantages. —  Endowment. —  Letter  to  the  southern 
bishops. —  Bishop  Elliott's  cooperation. —  The  southern  Church  enlisted 
in  the  cause. — First  meeting  of  the  trustees. —  To  cement  a  national 
feeling  through  the  Church. —  Location  of  the  University. —  Munificent 
gifts. — Charter  of  the  institution. —  Bishop  Hopkins's  estimate. — Active 
work. —  Public  spirit  and  liberality. — The  corner-stone  laid. —  Advance 
in  American  education. —  Present  status. — Appendix:  Constitution  of 
the  University ;  Statutes. 

It  has  been  erroneously  supposed  that  Bishop  Polk's 
project  of  establishing  a  great  university  for  the  south- 
ern States  was  formed  but  a  short  time  before  he  pro- 
posed it  to  the  Church  and  the  world.  He  himself  said 
that  the  first  distinct  idea  of  it  came  to  him  when  he 
was  abroad  in  1831 ;  but  it  is  probable  that  its  elements 
had  been  previously  gathering  in  his  mind.  Even  be- 
fore he  began  to  study  for  holy  orders  he  had  felt  the 
disadvantage  of  the  exclusively  scientific  education  he 
had  received  at  West  Point.  He  did  not  undervalue  the 
technical  instructions  of  the  Military  Academy.  Indeed, 
if  he  had  been  obliged  to  choose  between  the  curriculum 
of  the  Academy  and  the  usual  course  of  American  col- 

219 


220  VIEWS  ON  EDUCATION.  [1854 

leges  as  it  was  forty  or  even  fifty  years  ago,  he  would, 
without  hesitation,  have  chosen  the  former  j  for  in  most 
colleges  of  that  time  literary  studies  were  pursued  to  the 
neglect,  and  almost  to  the  exclusion,  of  the  sciences. 
Nevertheless  he  felt  that  the  course  of  the  Military  Acad- 
emy would  be  improved,  and  that  its  scientific  purpose 
would  not  be  marred,  if  the  cadets  had  more  of  the 
classical  and  literary  instruction  which  is  a  part  of  the 
usual  preparation  for  other  professions.  He  fully  recog- 
nized the  necessity  of  giving  a  special  direction  to  the 
course  of  study  to  be  pursued  by  men  intended  for  a 
particular  profession ;  but  he  was  firm  in  the  conviction 
that  the  professional  man  ought  always  to  have  a  liberal 
education,1  and  he  thought  that  every  gentleman  ought 
to  have  at  least  so  much  acquaintance  with  every  branch 
of  human  knowledge  as  to  be  capable  of  intelligent  sym- 
pathy with  the  pursuits  and  thoughts  of  other  educated 
men  of  any  profession.  He  observed,  too,  that  the  isola- 
tion of  technical  schools,  whether  military,  medical,  legal, 
or  theological,  each  by  itself,  tends  to  foster  a  narrow 
spirit  of  professional  conceit  which  would  be  less  likely 
to  exist  if  the  professors  and  students  of  the  different 
faculties  were  in  daily  contact  with  each  other.  When 
he  went  abroad,  he  saw  in  the  great  English  and  Con- 
tinental universities  a  fairly  adequate  approximation  to 
the  vague  ideal  he  had  already  conceived.  But  he  saw 
more  than  that ;  for  he  saw  that  great  universities  edu 
cate  not  merely  individual  men,  but  nations ;  and  that 
they  inspire  the  noblest  impulses  of  national  activity, 
treasuring  the  riches  of  the  past,  stimulating  and  inform- 
ing the  energies  of  the  present,  and  in  the  best  sense 
laying  the  foundations  of  the  future.     As  an  American 

1  The  reasons  he  gave  his  father  for  his  wish  to  accept  the  profes- 
sorship at  Amherst  College  emphasize  this  idea  strongly. 


Mt.  48]  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  221 

he  was  mortified — perhaps  alarmed — to  think  that  in 
the  whole  of  the  United  States  there  was  not  (in  1831) 
one  single  university  worthy  of  the  name.  With  a  few 
exceptions,  American  literature  was  still  barren,  or  at 
least  feeble  and  imitative,  without  force  and  without 
originality.  Those  were  days  in  the  world  when  was 
scornfully  asked,  "  Who  reads  American  books  ? "  Amer- 
icans themselves  read  few  American  books,  for  there 
were  few  American  books  to  read.  American  publica- 
tions for  the  most  part  were  pirated  reprints  of  foreign 
works;  and  American  periodical  literature,  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century  afterward,  consisted  largely 
of  the  same  sort  of  material.  Comparing  one  part  of  his 
country  with  another,  he  saw  that,  poor  as  the  North 
was  in  literature  and  institutions  of  learning,  the  South 
was  poorer  still.  Most  of  the  sons  of  men  of  means 
were  sent  to  northern  colleges  to  be  educated;  and, 
with  the  exception  of  fugitive  productions  in  the  news- 
papers, there  were  no  indications  of  the  appearance  of  a 
southern  literature.  As  the  son  of  a  soldier  of  the  Rev- 
olution, it  was  a  pride  to  him  to  think  of  the  preponder- 
ating influence  which  had  been  exercised  by  southern 
men  in  field  and  council  throughout  the  Revolutionary 
War  and  for  half  a  century  afterward ;  but  as  the  years 
rolled  on  and  the  old  generation  passed  away,  the  men 
of  the  second  generation  did  not  seem  to  him  to  be  the 
equals  of  their  predecessors.  These  considerations,  not 
long  after  his  return  from  Europe,  began  to  inspire  him 
with  a  passionate  desire  to  devote  his  energies  to  the 
founding  of  a  great  American  university  somewhere  in 
the  southern  States.  For  many  years  the  state  of  his 
health  and  the  pressure  of  his  private  and  official  duties 
kept  him  from  it.  While  he  was  wandering  through  his 
enormous  missionary  jurisdiction  of  the  "Southwest," 


222  VIEWS  ON  IMMIGRATION.  [1854 

out  of  which  six  dioceses  and  two  missionary  jurisdic- 
tions have  since  been  created,  and  afterward,  when  his 
own  affairs  were  cruelly  embarrassed,  he  had  small 
chance  of  founding  universities ;  but  as  soon  as  he  was 
relieved  of  these  burdens  and  had  made  his  home  in  a 
great  city,  he  began  to  agitate  the  subject  of  the  uni- 
versity. He  did  it  then  because  he  thought  the  time 
had  come,  and  not  because  he  was  suddenly  attracted  by 
the  fascination  of  a  grand  and  novel  enterprise.  When 
he  laid  his  plans  before  such  men  as  Bishops  Elliott  and 
Otey,  than  whom  none  worthier  or  wiser  have  adorned 
the  American  Episcopate,  they  were  impressed,  not  so 
much  by  the  grandeur  of  his  project  as  by  his  states- 
man-like grasp  of  the  whole  subject,  and  the  mature 
consideration  which  he  had  given  to  its  most  subordinate 
details.  When  the  movement  had  been  fairly  inaugu- 
rated, and  the  board  of  trustees  met  to  frame  a  code  of 
"statutes"  for  the  university,  those  who  were  present 
observed  the  masterly  way  in  which  he  answered  all 
questions  and  met  all  objections,  until  the  discussions 
seemed  to  take  the  form  of  a  simple  conversation  in 
which  the  other  members  of  the  board  were  assisting 
Polk  and  Elliott  to  reconsider  and  revise  the  phraseology 
of  their  project.  To  those  who  Mow  the  facts,  the  notion 
that  the  magnificent  scheme  of  the  University  of  the 
South  was  hastily  planned  is  merely  preposterous. 

The  notion  that  it  was  sectional,  or  in  any  way  un- 
worthy of  a  sincere  lover  of  his  country,  is  equally 
untrue.  In  the  work  which  he  proposed  he  thought  he 
saw  a  benefit  to  the  whole  country.  Though  he  had  not 
a  particle  of  sympathy  with  the  proscriptive  party  of  the 
rt  Know-nothings,"  he  regarded  the  rapid  increase  of  our 
population  through  the  immigration  of  foreigners  as  in- 
volving serious  dangers,  which,  to  be  averted,  must  be 


Mt.  48]       BELIEF  IN  AN  ARISTOCRACY.  223 

foreseen  and  wisely  provided  against.  The  growth  of 
dense  populations  in  manufacturing  towns  he  also  re- 
garded with  apprehensious  which  would  certainly  not 
have  been  lessened  had  he  lived  till  now.  In  times  of 
prosperity  he  thought  that  all  would  be  well;  but  he 
apprehended  that  distress  in  commerce  and  manufac- 
tures would  give  rise  to  revolutionary  disorders  in  a 
country  where  universal  suffrage  might  put  society  at 
the  mercy  of  demagogues.  The  danger,  he  thought, 
would  first  be  felt  at  the  East;  the  West,  being  an 
agricultural  region  like  the  South,  would  for  many  years 
be  more  conservative ;  and  the  unity  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley  would  be  likely  for  all  time  to  operate  as  a  bond 
between  the  people  of  the  Northwest  and  the  people 
of  the  southern  States.  But  it  was  to  the  South  that 
he  looked  for  the  maintenance  of  a  true  conservatism, 
not  only  within  its  own  borders,  but  throughout  the 
country.  He  despised,  heartily  enough,  a  mere  aristoc- 
racy of  wealth,  which  might  be  almost  as  injurious  to  the 
true  interests  of  the  commonwealth  as  mob-law  estab- 
lished under  the  name  of  universal  suffrage ;  but  he  held 
that  an  aristocratic  element  of  some  sort  is  necessary  to 
the  stability  of  society ;  and  in  the  institutions  of  the 
South  he  believed  that  such  an  element  had  been  provi- 
dentially furnished.  It  was  necessary,  however,  that  the 
ruling  classes  of  the  South  should  be  worthy  of  the  place 
in  the  destinies  of  their  country  to  which  he  believed 
that  Providence  had  called  them. 

In  looking  to  the  future  he  was  misled  neither  by  the 
facts  nor  by  the  sentiments  of  the  present.  He  saw 
more  clearly  than  the  statesmen  of  his  day  that  in  the 
natural  order  of  events  the  area  of  slaveholding  States 
could  not  be  extended,  but  must  be  gradually  diminished. 
Before  many  years  he  expected  the  border  States  to 


224  THE  FUTUBE   OF  SLAVERY.  [1854 

become  free  States.  In  the  plantation  States  alone  lie 
looked  for  permanence,  and  the  extension  of  slave  terri- 
tory beyond  the  cotton  belt  he  did  not  desire.  While  he 
thoroughly  believed  in  the  right  of  all  citizens  to  occupy 
the  Territories  with  property  which  was  recognized  as 
such  by  the  Constitution  of  their  country,  he  believed 
that  slave  labor  could  not  possibly  be  made  available 
in  the  northwestern  Territories  for  any  length  of  time. 
Hence  he  regarded  the  Kansas  struggle  as  a  blunder  on 
the  part  of  the  North,  which  could  not  long  be  troubled 
by  the  pressure  of  slavery  in  that  region,  and  as  a  dou- 
ble blunder,  economical  and  political,  on  the  part  of  the 
South.  For  similar  reasons  he  had  no  sympathy  with 
those  who  desired  the  annexation  of  Cuba,  holding  that 
it  would  lessen  the  influence  of  the  South  to  a  degree 
which  no  increase  of  territory  and  no  temporary  gain  of 
votes  in  Congress  could  compensate.  To  fulfill  its  des- 
tiny, the  South,  as  he  conceived,  must  be  raised  and  sus- 
tained by  intellectual  and  moral  forces,  not  dragged 
down  by  the  dead  weight  of  an  alien  people ;  and  unless 
the  dominant  race  at  the  South  should  be  worthily  fitted 
for  their  difficult  position  by  education  and  by  moral  and 
religious  culture,  he  clearly  saw  and  apprehended  the 
dangers  of  hereditary  wealth  in  the  midst  of  a  subject 
race.  It  was  not  at  all  because  he  underrated  the  peo- 
ple of  the  South,  but  because  he  believed  that  God  had 
called  them  to  an  exceptionally  difficult  and  dangerous 
position,  both  toward  the  subject  race  and  toward  their 
country,  that  he  magnified  the  necessity  of  inspiring 
their  enthusiasm  in  favor  of  a  grand  and  beneficent 
work  of  education. 

Churchman  as  he  was  to  his  heart's  core,  he  felt  as 
painfully  as  any  the  dependence  of  the  South  on  other 
portions  of  the  country  for  its  supply  of  clergy.     It  was 


ML4B]  THE  SOUTHEBN  CHURCH.  225 

his  fixed  conviction  that  every  country  ought  to  have 
a  native  ministry j  and  to  the  South,  with  its  peculiar 
type  of  civilization,  the  necessity  was  particularly  great. 
The  majority  of  the  clergy  at  the  South  were  either 
from  the  North  or  from  other  countries  where  the  sys- 
tem of  the  South,  as  he  conceived,  was  misunderstood ; 
and,  however  faithful  they  might  be,  they  were  never 
able  to  make  full  proof  of  their  ministry  until  they  had 
been  in  some  sort  naturalized  as  southern  citizens. 
This  alone  was  a  disadvantage ;  but  as  the  antislavery 
agitation  gathered  strength,  and  as  southern  people 
came  more  and  more  to  regard  northern  people  as  hos- 
tile to  themselves  and  their  institutions,  the  instructions 
of  pastors  on  the  plainest  duties  of  master  and  servant 
were  not  readily  received  from  men  of  northern  birth. 
At  the  same  time,  and  for  the  same  reasons,  northern 
clergymen  were  reluctant  to  accept  positions  at  the 
South.  Hence  it  became,  year  by  year,  more  essential 
that  the  Church  in  the  South  should  have  a  native  min- 
istry. That  the  rearing  of  such  a  ministry  was  one  of 
the  good  works  which  the  bishop  expected  to  result 
from  the  university  is  evident.  It  is  equally  evident  that 
he  expected  the  Church  of  his  love  to  be  the  largest 
gainer  by  it  in  every  way ;  and  yet  he  regarded  the  func- 
tion of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  in  establish- 
ing the  university,  with  the  eye  of  a  statesman  rather 
than  with  that  of  a  mere  ecclesiastic.  "  After  all,"  he 
said,  "  the  Church  is  the  heart  of  Anglo-Saxon  Christian- 
ity. The  other  denominations  have  retained  more  of 
the  Christian  heritage  they  have  received  from  her  than 
they  have  ever  rejected,  and  they  are  even  now  more  in 
unity  with  her  than  they  are  with  each  other.  We  shall 
never  win  them  back  by  any  system  of  vulgar  proselyt- 
ism  j  but  if  we  can  win  their  hearts  and  command  their 


226  THE  NEGRO  PROBLEM.  [1854 

respect  by  some  great  work  which  meets  their  approba- 
tion, they  will  rally  round  her  more  readily  than  they 
now  cooperate  with  each  other.  The  university  is  such 
a  work,  and  if  the  Church  cannot  do  it,  nobody  can." 
Thus,  while  he  undoubtedly  expected  great  and  lasting 
benefits  to  accrue  to  the  Church  from  her  control  of  the 
university,  he  looked  for  them  in  the  exact  proportion 
in  which  the  Church  should  prove  herself  to  be  a  general 
benefactor  rather  than  a  beneficiary. 

It  will  always  be  difficult  for  those  who  had  no  per- 
sonal acquaintance  with  the  minds  of  conscientious  slave- 
holders to  understand  the  absolute  fact  that,  from  first 
to  last,  Bishop  Polk  expected  the  negro  population  to  be, 
indirectly  but  really,  the  largest  beneficiaries  of  the  uni- 
versity. His  consideration  of  slavery  as  an  institution 
was  entirely  practical.  That  African  slavery  was  in  its 
origin  a  crime,  and  that  the  slave-trade  was  an  atrocity, 
there  could  be  no  kind  of  doubt ;  but  for  the  origin  of 
slavery  he  was  no  more  responsible  than  for  the  tricks 
and  frauds  by  which  so  many  land  titles  were  originally 
acquired  from  the  aborigines  of  this  continent.  Before 
he  was  born,  many  thousands  of  negroes  had  been  "  im- 
ported "  under  the  sanction  of  the  laws  of  England  and 
America ;  and  the  institution  of  American  slavery  was 
an  inherited  fact,  in  the  creation  of  which  he  had  had  no 
concern.  To  return  the  slaves  to  Africa  was  impossible  ; 
and  if  it  had  been  possible,  he  now  saw  that  it  would  be 
a  cruelty.  Besides,  it  was  a  fact  patent  to  observation 
that  in  their  state  of  servitude  the  negroes  were  steadily 
advancing  in  Christianity  and  civilization.  They  were 
no  longer  savages ;  they  were  docile,  kindly,  Christian 
people,  who  might  in  time  become  fit  for  freedom ;  but 
they  still  seemed  to  be  very  insufficiently  prepared  for 
the  state  of  liberty.     The  experiments  in  the  way  of 


ML  48]         EDUCATION  IN  THE  SOUTH.  227 

individual  emancipation  which  had  been  made  had  not 
been  encouraging ;  and,  as  a  class,  the  free-negro  popu- 
lation, where  it  existed,  gave  no  hopeful  indication  that 
a  general  emancipation  of  the  slaves  would  or  could  be 
beneficial.  To  thoughtful  southern  men  it  was  manifest 
that  the  existing  order  had  done  and  was  still  doing  — 
quietly  and  perhaps  slowly,  but  surely  —  a  beneficent 
work  in  the  gradual  elevation  of  the  subject  race ;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  seemed  to  them  to  be  not  less  evident 
that  premature  emancipation  might  be  disastrous  to  both 
races,  and  that  the  steps  by  which  emancipation  might 
at  last  be  wisely  reached  must  be  measured  by  genera- 
tions, not  by  years.  Hence  they  held  that  the  question 
of  a  general  emancipation  was  not  a  practical  question 
for  their  time.  But  for  that  very  reason  it  was  a  matter 
of  unspeakable  importance  that  the  ruling  race  of  the 
South  should  realize  the  greatness  of  the  trust  which  had 
been  providentially  committed  to  them  in  the  care  of  an 
ignorant  and  helpless  people,  and  that  they  should  be 
intellectually  and  morally  qualified  to  fulfill  it ;  and,  con- 
sequently, however  great  the  direct  advantages  of  the 
university  might  be  to  the  white  race,  its  indirect  bene- 
fit to  the  black  race  could  not  fail  to  be  incomparably 
greater. 

The  colleges  and  other  institutions  of  learning  which 
were  already  in  existence  at  the  South  had  Bishop 
Polk's  fullest  sympathy  and  his  most  generous  apprecia- 
tion. For  the  University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel 
Hill  he  had  a  very  high  regard,  and  in  the  University  of 
Mississippi  he  was  much  interested.  But,  at  the  best, 
the  institutions  of  learning  in  the  South,  outside  of  Vir- 
ginia, were  merely  colleges ;  some  of  them  were  little 
more  than  fairly  good  high-schools ;  none  of  them  were 
universities,  even  when  they  bore  the  name ;  and  that 


228        CONCEPTION  OF  THE    UNIVERSITY.      [1854 

they  did  not  meet  the  necessities  of  the  people  was  ap- 
parent from  the  fact  that  the  number  of  their  students 
was  always  small,  the  greater  number  of  southern  stu- 
dents being  sent  to  northern  schools.  The  University 
of  Virginia,  it  is  true,  stood  high  among  the  institutions 
of  learning  of  the  whole  land ;  but,  with  his  views  and 
expectations  of  the  future,  it  was  impossible  for  Bishop 
Polk  to  regard  any  institution  situated  in  the  border 
States  as  the  permanent  seat  of  such  a  university  as  he 
believed  to  be  necessary  for  the  South.  It  is  always  to 
be  remembered  that  he  expected  the  gradual  extinction 
of  slavery  in  the  border  States,  and  believed  its  ultimate 
confinement  to  the  cotton  belt  to  be  inevitable.  He 
thought,  therefore,  that  the  university  ought  to  be  situ- 
ated where  it  would  accomplish  the  good  for  which  it 
was  immediately  intended ;  and  therefore  from  the  first 
the  bishops  and  dioceses  whom  he  sought  to  associate  in 
the  project  of  the  university  were  the  bishops  and  dio- 
ceses of  the  cotton  States.  With  the  existing  educational 
institutions  of  those  States  it  was  his  desire  that  the 
University  should  cultivate  the  closest  relations  of  good- 
will, and  also,  if  possible,  of  active  cooperation.  It  en- 
tered into  the  plans  of  the  University  that  it  should 
have  subordinate  preparatory  schools  in  all  the  States, 
and  that  it  should  afford  ample  facilities  for  special 
study  to  the  students  and  graduates  of  all  other  instil 
tutions. 

The  conception  of  the  university  as  it  was  at  last 
matured  in  Bishop  Polk's  mind  was  grand  indeed  — 
grander  than  he  sometimes  thought  it  wise  to  tell.  Some 
great  domain  (such  as  he  did  in  fact  secure)  was  to  be 
exclusively  devoted  to  the  purposes  of  education,  with- 
out interference  from  any  power  or  person  outside  of  a 
board  of  governors  constituted  by  the  statutes  of  the 


Mt.4S]  A  BROAD  SCHEME.  229 

university  itself.  The  charter  of  the  university  was  to 
secure  to  the  hebdomadal  board,  as  I  think  it  was  called, 
municipal  authority  within  the  entire  domain.  Thus, 
every  undesirable  association  was  to  be  excluded.  The 
lands  were  never  to  be  sold  in  fee,  but  only  rented  on 
long  leases,  which  should  be  forfeited  if  the  property 
were  used  for  any  purpose  forbidden  by  the  terms  of  an 
agreement  framed  entirely  in  the  interests  of  the  uni- 
versity. In  different  parts  of  the  domain  stately  build- 
ings were  to  be  erected,  and  fitted  with  all  appliances 
that  the  experience  of  educators  throughout  the  world 
had  found  necessary  or  desirable  for  purposes  of  educa- 
tion. From  all  parts  of  the  world  eminent  professors  of 
all  the  faculties  were  to  be  gathered  together,  at  what- 
ever cost.  Inducements  were  to  be  offered  to  distin- 
guished men  of  letters  to  make  their  homes  there  j  and 
to  this  end  special  lectureships  were  to  be  endowed  which 
should  assure  them  a  modest  income  without  withdraw- 
ing them  from  their  particular  pursuits.  In  time  it  was 
expected  that  presses  would  be  established  from  which 
a  native  literature  should  be  issued.  In  short,  the  uni- 
versity domain  was  to  be  fitted  and  prepared  for  a  home 
of  all  the  arts  and  sciences  and  of  literary  culture  in  the 
southern  States. 

His  experience  or  his  observation,  or  both,  had  so  filled 
him  with  a  horror  of  the  barrack  system  of  lodging  stu- 
dents that  he  would  have  refused  to  have  anything  to 
do  with  an  educational  enterprise  of  which  that  system 
formed  a  part.  For  the  university  his  plan  was  that 
the  students  should  live  with  families  who  should  be 
encouraged  to  make  their  abode  on  the  university  do- 
main for  that  special  purpose.  There  would  always,  he 
thought,  be  a  sufficient  number  of  persons  of  character 
and  culture,  but  of  limited  means,  who  would  be  glad 


230  HOME  LIFE  FOB  STUDENTS.  [1854 

to  add  to  their  resources  by  supplying  homes  for  the 
students  j  but  the  number  of  students  in  a  single  family 
was  never  to  be  large  enough  to  destroy  the  feeling  of 
family  life.  Not  more  than  ten  or  twelve  at  the  utmost 
were  ever  to  be  lodged  in  one  house. 

In  various  ways  he  planned  that  the  students  should 
have  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  association  with 
their  kindred,  both  at  their  own  homes  and  at  the  uni- 
versity. It  is  in  the  winter  season  that  the  climate  of 
the  cotton-growing  regions  of  the  South  is  most  salu- 
brious, and  in  that  season  is  the  time  of  greatest  social 
enjoyment  and  family  festivity.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
university  domain,  placed,  as  it  should  be  (and  as  it 
was),  somewhere  in  the  mountainous  region  lying  around 
Chattanooga,  would  enjoy  a  summer  climate  surpassed 
by  no  other  in  the  world.  Therefore  it  was  in  the  win- 
ter season  that  the  long  vacation  of  the  university  was 
to  be  given,  and  not  in  the  summer,  as  is  customary 
elsewhere ;  and  strong  inducements  were  to  be  offered 
to  planters  and  others  to  make  their  summer  homes  at 
the  university  during  the  period  of  their  usual  annual 
vacation  of  several  months.  To  persons  whose  sons 
were  students  such  an  arrangement  would  be  eminently 
desirable,  and  it  was  hoped  that  the  social,  intellectual, 
and  climatic  advantages  presented  would  soon  make  the 
university  domain  a  place  of  popular  resort  to  the  best 
classes  of  southern  society.  The  benefit  to  the  students 
of  thus  maintaining  the  habit  and  associations  of  family 
life  in  the  midst  of  their  studies  is  obvious  enough ;  and 
to  gather  the  best  elements  of  the  southern  people  at 
the  seat  of  so  great  an  institution  of  learning  during  the 
season  of  its  most  active  operation  must  surely  exert  a 
salutary  influence  directly  upon  them  and  indirectly  on 
the  whole  society  in  which  they  lived  and  moved.     Thus 


Mt.  50]  THE  ENDOWMENT  PLAN.  231 

there  was  no  class  of  the  whole  people  that  the  bishop 
did  not  hope  might  be  benefited  by  the  success  of  the 
university :  masters  and  slaves  j  students,  parents,  and 
society ;  the  nation  in  general  and  the  southern  States 
in  particular, —  he  thought  of  all,  and  he  intended  good 
to  all. 

No  one  knew  better  than  Bishop  Polk  that  for  the  in- 
auguration of  so  vast  a  scheme,  and  much  more  for  its 
successful  accomplishment,  time  and  money  would  be 
necessary.  But  he  also  knew  that  time  is  always  com- 
ing, and  he  had  an  abiding  faith  that  his  southern 
countrymen  would  come  to  his  assistance  with  generous 
gifts  and  munificent  endowments  as  soon  as  they  should 
understand  his  plans.  In  order  to  build  solidly  and 
grandly  he  was  content  to  hasten  slowly.  He  expected 
years  to  elapse  before  the  university  could  be  begun- 
He  did  not  think  that  any  beginning  could  be  safely 
made  until  a  minimum  sum  of  half  a  million  of  dollars 
should  have  been  subscribed  and  paid  into  the  treasury, 
or  otherwise  secured  in  a  safe  and  available  way.  It  is 
true  that  half  a  million  of  dollars  at  that  time,  when 
money  commanded  a  much  higher  rate  of  interest  than 
now,  was  an  immense  sum,  but  it  was  only  a  begin- 
ning of  the  endowment  which  in  his  opinion  would  be 
needed  for  the  work.  He  thought  that  before  the  uni- 
versity could  be  said  to  be  safely  established  it  must 
have  an  endowment  of  three  millions  of  dollars.  No 
part  of  the  endowment  was  to  be  spent,  even  for  the 
erection  of  buildings  ;  the  interest  only  was  to  be  used ; 
and  as  the  usual  rate  of  interest  at  the  South  was  eight 
per  cent.,  the  interest  of  only  one  half -million  of  dollars 
would  have  given  an  annual  sum  of  forty  thousand 
dollars  with  which  to  begin  the  erection  of  the  necessary 
buildings.     If  peace  had  continued  and  Bishop  Polk  had 


232  ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  THE  PLAN.         [1856 

lived,  there  is  not  the  slightest  reason  to  doubt  that  he 
would  have  secured  the  whole  sum  of  three  millions  of 
money  for  the  endowment  of  the  university ;  for  when 
he  and  Bishop  Elliott  could  hardly  be  said  to  have  made 
more  than  a  fair  beginning  of  the  work  of  canvassing 
for  subscriptions,  they  had  actually  secured  something 
over  half  a  million.  Never  were  higher,  nobler,  or  better 
founded  hopes  more  cruelly  frustrated.  The  misery  of 
war  swept  the  endowment  clean  away,  and  after  the  war 
was  over  nothing  remained  but  the  magnificent  domain 
on  the  Sewanee  Mountain  and  the  recollection  of  a  glo- 
rious hope.  All  honor  to  the  men  who,  with  the  recol- 
lection of  so  great  a  hope,  have  had  the  magnanimity  to 
labor  faithfully  for  smaller  things  with  motives  worthy 
of  the  greatest. 

It  was  in  the  summer  of  1856  that  Bishop  Polk  made 
his  first  public  announcement  of  the  university  project. 
He  had  weighed  every  difficulty  and  believed  that  every 
difficulty  could  be  overcome.  He  had  estimated  the 
forces  and  resources  which  might  be  set  in  motion  and 
applied  to  the  furtherance  of  his  scheme,  and  was  satis- 
fied of  their  sufficiency.  Having  assured  himself  that 
the  time  was  ripe  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  work, 
he  addressed  a  printed  letter1  to  the  bishops  of  the 
dioceses  in  the  States  of  North  and  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Texas,  Arkansas, 
and  Tennessee  (which  he  caused  to  be  widely  distributed), 
claiming  their  counsel  and  cooperation.  He  appealed  to 
them  on  the  ground  of  their  apostolic  character  and 
jurisdiction,  and  reminded  them  that  as  their  commission 
extended  to  all  men  within  their  dioceses,  and  not  less 
to  those  who  rejected  than  to  those  who  admitted  their 

l  "  University  of  the  South  Papers,"  vol.  i,  p.  4. 


M~  50]  LETTER   TO   THE  BISHOPS.  233 

authority,  so  it  was  their  bounden  duty  to  labor  for 
the  intellectual  as  well  as  the  religious  welfare  of  all  for 
whom  that  commission  made  them  so  deeply  responsible. 
In  the  same  letter  he  sought  to  stimulate  and  inspire  the 
churchmen  of  the  South  by  his  unequivocal  declaration 
that  Church  principles  "are  of  the  essence  of  Christ's 
religion/7  and  to  encourage  them  with  the  hope  of  win- 
ning back  to  the  Church  thousands  whose  forefathers 
had  wandered  from  it.  Having  thus  prepared  them  for 
his  proposition,  he  proceeded  to  show  that  a  perfectly 
equipped  institution  of  learning  provided  by  the  Church 
and  governed  by  the  Church,  but  open  to  all  the  people 
of  the  South  and  intended  for  the  benefit  of  all,  would 
be  the  best  means  of  reaching  all.  He  admitted  the 
value  of  the  existing  institutions,  but  he  pointed  out 
their  defects  and  showed  the  reasons  of  their  insuffi- 
ciency. State  institutions,  he  said,  had  been  weakened 
by  the  erection  of  denominational  colleges,  and  the 
latter  had  weakened  each  other  by  their  numbers  and 
rivalry,  so  that,  at  last,  none  of  them  could  offer  their 
students  the  opportunities  and  facilities  which  were 
requisite  for  the  acquisition  of  the  highest  learning.  In 
the  meantime  the  Church  had  not  one  institution  of  her 
own,  even  for  the  training  of  her  ministry.  From  this 
cause  many  persons  were  deterred  from  entering  the 
ministry  at  all ;  and  hence  at  the  South,  where  a  native 
ministry  was  peculiarly  desirable,  no  native  ministry 
could  be  provided.  Observing  a  delicate  silence  con- 
cerning the  disastrous  failure  of  previous  educational 
enterprises  undertaken  by  different  dioceses  and  indi- 
vidual bishops  at  the  South,  he  showed  that  not  one  of 
the  dioceses  whose  bishops  he  was  addressing  was  strong 
enough  by  itself  alone  to  accomplish  any  great  work  of 
that  kind.     But  what  was  impossible  for  them  singly 


234  A    GRAND  P1WJECT.  [1856 

he  insisted  that  they  had  ample  means  to  accomplish  on 
the  grandest  scale  if  they  would  unite  their  forces.  He 
called  attention  to  the  incidental  advantages  of  frequent 
association  and  conference  with  each  other  which  would 
follow  from  their  association  in  some  great  work  of 
common  interest,  in  putting  an  end  to  the  painful  isola- 
tion from  the  larger  movements  of  the  Church  to  which 
the  southern  churchmen  were  condemned  by  the  dis- 
tance of  their  homes  from  the  great  centers  of  Church 
life  and  energy.  Then,  opening  before  the  eyes  of  his 
readers  the  map  of  the  southern  States,  he  showed  them 
that  "  trade,  with  her  lynx-eyed  vigilance  for  commer- 
cial advantages,"  had  laid  down  her  iron  roads  from 
every  State  in  the  cotton  belt  to  a  common  center,  in  a 
region  of  unsurpassed  salubrity,  at  the  southern  end  of 
the  Alleghany  range  of  mountains,  thus  bringing  every 
one  of  the  dioceses  concerned  within  easy  access  of  a 
part  of  the  country  which,  on  every  account,  was  well 
adapted  to  the  purpose  contemplated.  If  the  views 
which  he  had  thus  presented  found  favor  with  his  breth- 
ren of  the  episcopate,  he  suggested  that  a  meeting  for 
conference  on  the  subject  might  be  conveniently  had 
during  the  sessions  of  the  General  Convention  of  the 
Church  which  was  to  meet  in  the  following  October, 
when  they  might  call  to  their  councils  the  clerical  and 
lay  deputies  of  .their  several  dioceses. 

The  letter  of  the  bishop  had  an  instantaneous  effect. 
The  grandeur  of  his  project  and  the  bold  simplicity  with 
which  it  was  set  forth  appealed  to  the  imagination  of 
his  readers,  and  its  practical  common  sense  conciliated 
their  judgment.  To  the  bishops  it  opened  a  way  of  meet- 
ing their  responsibilities  as  it  had  not  before  been  pos- 
sible to  meet  them,  and  of  magnifying  their  office  by 
the  "  good  work  *  which  is  its  glory.     To  the  southern 


ML  60]      THE   CHURCH  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  235 

Church  at  large  it  gave  the  inspiration  of  a  lofty  enter- 
prise by  which  it  might  become  the  benefactor  of  all 
classes  and  conditions  of  men,  and  vindicate  its  claim 
to  be  the  Church  of  the  people.  At  the  same  time,  une- 
quivocal as  were  the  Church  principles  expressed  in  the 
letter,  it  contained  nothing  to  wound  the  feelings  of 
Christian  people  of  whatever  name,  and  to  the  minds  of 
southern  men  of  all  religious  tendencies  and  associa- 
tions it  brought  a  hope  of  wiping  out  the  shame  with 
which  their  sectional  opponents  were  continually  twit- 
ting them,  that  the  southern  people  had  proved  them- 
selves incapable  of  creating  institutions  of  the  highest 
learning.  The  whole  public  of  the  South  was  attracted 
to  the  Church  as  it  had  never  been  before ;  and  even 
men  like  Governor  Swain  of  North  Carolina,  president 
of  the  university  of  that  State,  who  believed  that  the 
State  and  not  any  particular  church  ought  to  provide 
the  highest  educational  privileges  for  the  youth  of  the 
country,  were  candid  enough  to  admit  that,  if  any  church 
were  to  undertake  that  duty,  "  the  Episcopal  Church  is 
the  most  compact  and  perfect  thing  that  has  ever  been 
devised  on  this  continent." 

Now  that  he  had  taken  the  responsibility  of  proposing 
the  scheme  of  the  university  without  seeking  to  involve 
any  one  else  in  the  danger  of  possible  failure,  the  bishop 
was  assiduous  in  commending  it  by  private  correspond- 
ence to  representative  men  of  all  sorts.  The  amount 
of  his  correspondence  at  this  time,  conducted  as  it  was 
without  the  assistance  of  a  secretary,  was  almost  incred- 
ible. But  it  was  to  his  dearest  friend,  Bishop  Elliott,  of 
Georgia,  that  he  opened  his  mind  with  the  most  perfect 
unreserve.  Polk  and  Elliott  were  the  complements  of 
each  other.  By  birth,  by  education,  and  by  every  in- 
stinct of  their  natures,  they  were  gentlemen.     One  who 


236  BISHOP  ELLIOTT.  [1856 

knew  them  both,  and  knew  them  well,  has  said:  ''It 
has  been  my  privilege  to  know  many  noble  men,  many 
Christian  men,  many  gentlemen  in  every  way  worthy 
of  the  name;  but  no  two  men  have  I  ever  known  so 
brave,  so  strong,  so  courteous,  so  gentle,  so  nobly  manly, 
and  so  sweetly  and  simply  godly,  as  those  two.'7  It  was 
natural  that  Leonidas  Polk  and  Stephen  Elliott  should 
love  each  other ;  they  could  not  help  it.  But  there  was 
a  peculiar  fitness  in  their  association  with  each  other  • 
for  Elliott  had  precisely  the  qualifications  which  ena- 
bled him  to  supplement  what  Polk  lacked.  He  was  an 
accomplished  scholar,  classical  and  artistic  in  all  his 
tastes,  a  master  of  English,  and  yet  so  profound  a  stu- 
dent of  natural  science  that  in  certain  departments  he 
was  admitted  to  be  among  the  foremost  men  in  the 
whole  South.  Thus  he  was  ready  to  enter  fully  into 
Polk's  views  of  the  due  scope  of  a  liberal  education, 
neither  undervaluing  classical  learning  nor  content  that 
it  should  be  divorced  from  science.  His  accomplish- 
ments as  a  writer  fitted  him  to  put  before  the  public  in 
the  best  form  the  views  which  they  held  in  common,  and 
in  the  documents  concerning  the  university  subsequently 
published  under  their  joint  names  it  is  easy,  from  cer- 
tain peculiarities  of  style,  to  recognize  the  hand  of 
Elliott.  Polk's  style  was  not  perfect,  and  he  generously 
rejoiced  in  the  superior  literary  accomplishments  of 
Elliott.  Polk's  own  style,  however,  was  very  far  from 
being  a  bad  style.  It  was  at  least  good  enough  to  con- 
vey his  ideas  so  clearly  and  forcibly  as  to  impress  them 
on  the  minds  of  his  readers,  and  he  had  the  rare  faculty 
of  imparting  to  what  he  wrote  something  of  the  mag- 
netic influence  which  so  wonderfully  marked  his  inter- 
course with  other  men.  This  may  be  felt  even  now  in 
reading  his  letter  to  the  southern  bishops,  referred  to 


^Et.50]  STBENGTH  IN   UNION.  237 

above,  and  in  his  letters  to  Elliott,  which  are  given 

below : 

New  Orleans,  July  23,  1856. 

My  dear  Elliott :  I  send  you  herewith  a  letter  I  have  taken 
the  liberty  to  address  to  you  and  others  of  our  brethren  in 
southern  dioceses,  publicly,  on  a  subject  which  very  nearly 
concerns  us  all,  and  which  I  trust  will  find  favor  with  you. 
The  letter  will  explain  itself.  I  am  satisfied  now  is  our  time. 
If  we  unite  we  can  accomplish  all  we  want.  We  have  strength 
enough  in  the  Church,  but  for  such  purposes  and  under  such 
auspices  we  shall  not  want  help  from  those  who  are  without. 
Whatever  is  done  should  be  done  judiciously,  but  upon  the  most 
liberal  scale.  There  is  no  reason  why  in  such  hands  and 
under  such  supervision  we  might  not  in  five  years  have  a 
Church  university  which  would  rival  the  establishment  at 
Harvard  or  Yale.  I  am  perfectly  and  increasingly  satisfied 
that  nothing  short  of  that  will  save  us  as  a  Church,  and  as  a 
southern  Church  in  particular.  A  movement  of  some  kind  is 
indispensable  to  rally  and  unite  us,  to  develop  our  resources 
and  demonstrate  our  power.  We  must  rise  above  diocesan 
considerations,  and  look  to  the  good  of  the  whole,  in  this  case, 
as  our  individual  good.  Separately  we  are  powerless,  and 
we  can  gain  efficiency  only  by  combination. 

Take  the  whole  matter,  my  dear  brother,  into  your  serious 
consideration,  and  let  me  hear  what  you  think  of  it.  I  regret 
the  number  of  errors  inflicted  upon  it  in  its  passage  through 
the  press.  I  wrote  it  on  the  eve  of  my  departure  for  a  visita- 
tion from  which  I  have  just  returned,  and  left  it  to  another  to 
read  the  proofs. 

Very  truly  and  affectionately, 

Leonidas  Polk. 

New  Orleans,  August  30, 1856. 

My  dear  Elliott:  I  have  been  sick,  and  have  been  at  the  sea- 
side for  a  few  days.  On  my  return  I  found  your  welcome 
letter  of  the  2d. 

When  making  that  tender  of  a  plan  of  union  and  coopera- 
tion contained  in  my  printed  letter,  I  did  not  forget  your  ex- 


238  SIGNS  OF  THE   TIMES.  [1856 

perience  in  the  matter  of  school  enterprises.  I  was  prepared 
to  have  you  remind  me  of  the  adage  of  the  "burnt  child,"  and 
felt  I  must  accept  it  as  a  plea  in  abatement  of  any  special  en- 
thusiasm on  your  part  at  the  outset.  It  was  not  only  a  sore 
but  a  sound  piece  of  instruction,  that  of  yours ;  and  one  upon 
which  I  felt  we  might  count  as  an  availability  in  the  present 
matter.  We  did  not  fail,  my  dear  brother,  to  suffer  with  you 
while  you  were  suffering,  so  far,  at  least,  as  we  were  per- 
mitted by  the  facts  and  circumstances.  You  have,  undoubt- 
edly, been  forced  to  see  things  from  a  point  of  view  which 
will  be  useful  to  us  in  the  General  Conference,  and  may  help 
to  keep  us  off  a  rock  or  a  sand-bar.  Let  us  not  make  our  con- 
clusions broader  than  our  premises,  however.  Failure  in  one, 
two,  or  half  a  dozen  instances  should  not  be  conclusive  against 
all  effort  to  remedy  a  confessed  evil  of  increasing  and  porten- 
tous magnitude.  The  wisest  and  most  forecasted  and  cautious 
of  men  are  still  men,  and  are  not  above  the  reach  of  mishaps 
or  errors. 

And  besides,  God's  providence,  for  wise  reasons,  may  some- 
times interpose  and  prevent  lesser  successes  that  the  way  may 
be  open  for  greater.  Who  can  tell  f  But,  be  all  this  as  it 
may,  here  stands  out,  patent  upon  the  face  of  things,  in  bold 
and  startling  relief,  a  mass  of  facts  touching  the  present  and 
future  of  our  southern  Church,  which  demand  to  be  seen  and 
considered  and  dealt  with,  if  we  mean  to  meet  what  the  times 
exact,  and  to  keep  the  Church  for  whose  success  we  are  com- 
mitted from  being  swamped. 

I  think,  my  dear  Elliott,  I  cannot  be  mistaken  in  the  signs 
of  the  times.  A  few  years  more  are  all  that  are  wanted  to 
make  what  is  now  a  shadowy  phantom  an  embodied  and  liv- 
ing and  impressive  reality  j  and  we  shall  have  nothing  left  us 
but  bitter  and  unavailing  reproaches  if  we  do  not  wake  up 
to  the  necessity  of  providing  amply  for  the  emergency  that  is 
at  the  door.  You  know  as  well  as  I  do  the  state  of  feeling 
which  is  every  day  growing  stronger  among  northern  clergy- 
men and  teachers,  churchmen  though  they  be,  on  the  subject 
of  coming  South  to  labor.  Thus  far  we  have  been  able  to 
hold  that  matter  in  check  in  the  northern  Church  mind  by  the 


ML  50]  SLAVERY  AND   THE  NORTH.  239 

independent,  and  manly,  and  Christian  way  in  which  we  have, 
as  southern  churchmen,  dealt  with  the  question.  But  it  is  in 
check  only ;  it  is  a  pent-up  thing ;  it  is  tremendously  pressed 
from  the  rear;  it  feels  the  pressure;  and  now  and  then  it 

cries  out  (as  in  's  article,  with  its  slurs  on  bishops,  on 

which  I  took  occasion,  by  the  way,  to  give  him  my  mind  very 
fully).  Now,  my  dear  sir,  the  time  was  when  I  did  not  think 
it  worth  while  to  discuss  such  things.  It  is  with  the  extrem- 
est  reluctance  that  I  admit  the  necessity  now ;  but  I  must  be 
blind  as  a  churchman  —  hopelessly  blind — if  I  did  not  see 
them.  I  say,  then,  as  a  Church,  where  are  we  in  these  dioceses, 
cut  off  in  feeling,  and  in  sympathy,  and  in  fact  from  the  dio- 
ceses of  the  North,  with  a  wall  as  high  as  the  heavens  between 
us  and  them  f  Look  over  your  clergy  list,  and  the  lists  of  all 
your  brethren  around  you,  and  see  whence  it  is.  Look  over 
the  lists  of  the  teachers  of  your  schools,  your  governesses,  and 
your  tutors.  Whence  are  they  f  It  may  be  said  that  the  Good 
Book  says :  "  Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof."  It  is 
true;  but  the  Good  Book  never  takes  a  one-sided  view  of  any- 
thing, and  we  read  in  it  also  that  "a  wise  man  foreseeth  the 
evil  and  hideth  himself,  but  the  fool  passeth  on  and  is  pun- 
ished." 

Talk  of  slavery !  Those  madcaps  at  the  North  don't  un- 
derstand the  thing  at  all.  We  hold  the  negroes,  and  they 
hold  us !  They  are  at  the  head  of  the  ladder  !  They  furnish 
the  yoke  and  we  the  neck !  My  own  is  getting  sore,  and  it 
is  the  same  with  those  of  my  neighbors  in  Church  and  State. 
We  think  it  safe  to  avail  of  the  sensibility  still  left.  There 
is  such  a  thing  as  induration,  and  we  are  afraid  of  it.  But 
besides,  we  are  afraid  of  the  influence  of  northern  semina- 
ries and  colleges  on  the  mind  of  southern  youths.  We 
revolt  at  the  humiliation  to  which  the  impotence  of  our 
position  and  resources  subjects  us  now,  and  still  more  at  the 
deeper  humiliation  into  which  we  see  it  in  the  power  of 
contingencies  at  hand  to  plunge  us.  In  short,  we  see  no  way 
in  which  relief  is  to  be  had  but  by  rising  right  up  and  meet- 
ing the  emergency.  We  must  shake  off  our  lethargy,  awake 
to  the  actual  position  of  affairs,  and  set  ourselves  to  pro- 


240  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINABIES.  [1856 

viding  for  our  own  wants.  This  is  our  first  duty,  supposing 
no  such  feeling  as  that  existing  at  the  North  had  being. 
How  much  more  in  the  face  of  that  feeling! 

I  see  what  you  say  of  the  influence  of  theological  semi- 
naries and  presses.  All  that  is  very  well.  But  to  kick 
against  them  is  to  kick  against  the  pricks.  The  decree  is 
gone  forth ;  they  are  inaugurated ;  they  are  enthroned ; 
they  reign  !  They  are  the  coinage  of  the  mind  and  heart 
of  the  age.  They  are  necessaries  which  its  sense  of  its  wants 
has  demanded,  and  does  demand,  and  will  have.  The  tiling, 
then,  to  be  considered  is  whether  you  will  have  them  im- 
posed upon  you  by  somebody  else,  or  whether  you  will  organ- 
ize, equip,  control,  and  use  them  for  yourself,  and  employ 
them,  if  need  be,  in  imparting  what  you  think  the  truth  of  God 
to  the  minds  of  others.  We  must  either  receive  or  make  im- 
pressions. We  have  done  our  share  of  receiving!  The 
time  has  fully  come  when  we  should  enter  upon  the  work 
of  making  aggression  as  the  very  essence  of  our  commis- 
sion. Educational  establishments  in  all  departments  are 
the  universally  recognized  arsenals  whence  available  armor 
is  to  be  drawn  for  that  sort  of  campaigning,  and  a  sorry 
plight  we  sjiall  find  ourselves  in  presently,  cut  off  from 
those  whence  we  have  been  accustomed  to  draw,  with  no 
alternative  of  our  own  in  reserve.  No,  my  dear  Elliott ;  I 
see  nothing  left  us  but  to  unite  at  once,  and  hastily,  for  the 
common  defense. 

I  note  what  you  say  of  a  university.  In  the  first  place, 
I  think  you  are  mistaken  as  to  the  strength  of  the  Church 
in  these  States.  I  think,  if  properly  approached,  with  a 
full  and  free  exposition  of  our  actual  condition,  we  should 
find  churchmen — they  surely  have  the  ability — willing  to 
come  up  to  such  work  as  is  now  indicated,  and  to  lay  the 
foundation  of  such  institutions  of  learning  as  are  indispen- 
sable for  our  security  and  protection,  to  say  nothing  of  our 
prosperity.  But  they  must  be  made  to  see  the  whole  ground, 
and  to  effect  that  we  have  only  to  will  it.  But,  my  dear 
sir,  we  are,  as  I  think,  fortunate  in  our  surroundings,  in  the 
condition  of  the  whole  atmosphere  at  the  present  moment. 


ML  50]         EDUCATION  IN  THE  SOUTH.  241 

The  temper  of  the  outside  public  is  ripe  for  just  such  a 
movement.  It  is  the  thing  of  all  others  that  they  are  well 
prepared  for.  The  events  now  rife  and  current  have  forced 
the  Southern  mind  back  upon  itself.  It  has  been  and  is 
being  drawn  from  the  North  in  spite  of  itself,  especially  for 
the  means  of  educating  the  young.  A  large  number  of  the 
young  people  will  be  forced  back  from  the  other  side  of 
Mason  and  Dixon's  line.  Right  or  wrong,  their  parents, 
to  use  their  own  language,  "  would  rather  their  children 
should  go  half  educated  than  send  them  thither."  But 
they  would  prefer  that  they  should  have  access  to  the  high- 
est educational  advantages.  How  is  this  thing  to  be  ef- 
fected f  If  it  is  to  be  done,  it  must  be  done  by  themselves 
and  their  section,  and  they  cannot  do  it  unless  they  unite. 
We  have,  it  is  true,  many  colleges,  but  they  are  local.  They 
do  not  expect  to  do  more  than  to  provide  for  their  several 
States.  They  have  not  the  claims  nor  the  prestige  of  any- 
thing like  nationality  about  them.  They  are  not  common 
stock.  They  are  not  placed  on  such  a  footing  as  will  supply 
the  facilities  or  advantages  offered  by  Harvard  or  Yale. 
Our  people  feel  this.  They  are  twitted  with  the  difficulty, 
and  they  feel  the  taunt,  but  they  could  not  be  rallied  upon 
any  one  of  the  existing  colleges  to  supply  the  deficiency. 
They  would  find  it  easier  to  unite  in  a  new  thing,  especially 
if  the  auspices  under  which  it  is  introduced  and  is  to  be 
arranged  were  acceptable.  Such  I  believe  to  be  just  the 
condition  of  the  present  movement.  I  believe  the  southern 
mind  outside  the  Church  is  ripe  for  this.  I  believe  it  will 
hail  the  movement  with  pleasure,  especially  if  we  strike 
high  with  a  good  strong  hand,  with  a  united  heart  and  will, 
and  if  we  propose  to  them  the  sort  of  thing  which  will  sup- 
ply that  of  which  they  are  deprived.  To  be  attractive  it 
must  come  up  to  the  measure  of  the  necessities  of  the  oc- 
casion. It  must  fully  meet  their  wants.  If  we  propose 
this — we,  as  churchmen — and  pledge  ourselves  to  its  ad- 
ministration as  leading  clergymen  and  laymen  of  these  dio- 
ceses, we  shall  not  lack  the  money  necessary  to  carry  out 
the  wishes  of  all  parties.    To  be  anything,  this  movement 


242  PLEA  FOB   THE    UNIVERSITY.  [185G 

must  be  everything  required  for  education.  Its  very  am- 
plitude will  be  its  claim  to  the  confidence  and  support  of 
the  public.  As  a  highly  intelligent  Methodist  said  to  me 
with  regard  to  it,  the  fact  that  people  give  grudgingly  to 
a  local  enterprise  is  no  proof  at  all  that  they  will  be  guided 
by  that  rule  in  such  an  enterprise  as  this. 

How  the  proposal  is  likely  to  take  with  the  public  generally 
you  will  see  by  the  notice  taken  of  it  by  the  whole  New 
Orleans  secular  press.  These  papers,  copies  of  whose  issues  I 
have  caused  to  be  sent  you,  represent  all  opinions  in  politics 
and  religion.  They  are  the  exponents  of  public  sentiment, 
and,  to  a  man,  take  favorable  notice  of  the  movement,  com- 
mending and  sanctioning  it  as  meeting  a  necessity.  This  they 
have  done  of  their  own  free  will  and  accord.  They  have  thus 
stamped  upon  it  the  approbation  of  the  southern  public,  and 
to  a  certain  extent  guaranteed  for  it  southern  countenance 
and  substantial  aid,  so  far  at  least  as  this  region  which  they 
represent  is  concerned.  They  have  confidence  in  the  integrity, 
capacity,  social  power,  and  influence  of  the  Church.  If  we  say 
we  will  take  the  laboring  oar,  they  will  accept  the  service 
and  be  pleased  to  use  us  for  their  purposes  and  those  of  this 
region.  There  ought  to  be  enough  love  of  learning  in  the 
Church  itself  to  found  and  amply  endow  the  institution  we 
would  establish.  I  think  there  is  a  large  amount  at  our  dis- 
posal—  enough,  perhaps,  for  our  purpose. 

To  unite  the  Church  in  these  ten  dioceses,  and  to  unite  the 
people  of  these  ten  States,  a  vast  and  rare  advantage  is  found 
in  the  fact  that  the  dioceses  and  States  are  the  same.  This  is 
true  of  none  other  of  the  religious  organizations.  I  cannot 
doubt,  therefore,  if  we  will  go  together  in  solid  column,  we 
may  carry  all  our  points  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  fair  and  rea- 
sonable expectations  for  the  Church  as  well  as  the  State.  But 
besides,  have  we  no  Abbots  or  Lawrences  f  Why  not  find  men 
and  women  who,  for  their  Church's  and  their  country's  sake, 
will  found  professorships  and  scholarships  and  fellowships, 
and  libraries  and  chapels  f  None  in  all  these  ten  plantation 
States  ?  You  must  have  the  opportunity  offered  in  order  to 
know. 


JEt.  50]     COOPERATION  OF  THE  BISHOPS.  243 

So  much  of  this  matter,  which  I  confess  appears  to  my 
mind,  as  a  southern  man  and  as  a  churchman,  to  be  of  lead- 
ing importance.  Having  leisure,  I  have  allowed  my  pen  to 
say  quite  as  much  as  I  fear  you  will  have  time  to  read.  For 
the  rest,  I  shall  be  glad  to  discuss  it  with  you  when  we  meet 
in  Philadelphia.1  If  better  things  or  a  better  way  can  be 
shown  by  which  we  can  carry  out  our  wishes  and  meet  the 
necessities' by  which  we  are  all  oppressed,  I  shall  be  glad  to 
fall  in  with  them  and  bear  my  share  of  the  work  of  making 
them  ours.  I  trust  we  may  be  preserved  from  error,  and 
guided  to  wise  and  sober  conclusions.  I  have  letters  from 
Atkinson,  Davis,  Ruttledge,  and  Otey,  all  of  whom  express 
satisfaction  with  this  plan  of  mine,  and  bid  the  movement 
God-speed.  Green  and  Freeman,  I  take  it,  are  away  from 
home ;  but  from  both  of  them  I  have  had  verbally  their  assent 
to  the  movement  and  an  expression  of  their  desire  for  co- 
operation. Several  of  Cobbs's  clergy  assure  me  of  his  co- 
operation. I  sent  the  printed  letter  to  all  the  clergy  in  the 
States,  and  to  all  the  leading  laity  whom  I  knew.  From  many 
of  them  in  all  the  States,  both  clergy  and  laity,  I  have  had 
letters  expressing  strong  approbation  of  the  proposal,  with 
offers  of  strong  personal  influence  and  of  money.  .  .  . 
Very  truly  and  affectionately, 

Leonidas  Polk. 

Beyond  all  question  it  was  with  considerable  anxiety 
that  Bishop  Polk  awaited  the  meeting  of  the  General 
Convention  of  1856,  at  which  his  expectations, of  support 
in  his  enterprise  were  to  be  verified  or  disappointed; 
but,  as  the  days  went  on,  his  anxiety  wTas  set  at  rest  by 
the  evidence  of  sympathy  and  the  promises  of  substan- 
tial assistance  which  came  to  him  from  all  parts  of  the 
South.  Long  before  the  Convention  met,  he  was  assured 
of  the  cooperation  of  the  southern  bishops ;  and  indeed 
if  the  bishops  themselves  had  been  less  warm  in  their 
approval  of  the  proposed  institution,  they  would  have 

l  At  the  meeting  of  the  General  Convention, 


244  CONVENTION  OF  1856.  [185G 

been  roused  into  enthusiasm  by  the  earnestness  with 
which  it  was  received  by  their  clergy  and  laity. 

When  they  actually  met  at  the  Convention  they  united 
in  an  address  to  the  southern  Church,1  which  was  doubly 
valuable  as  the  first  official  indorsement  of  Polk's  scheme 
by  the  hierarchy  of  the  south,  and  as  an  evidence  of  the 
power  with  which  he  had  impressed  his  ideas  on  men  of 
independent  character,  of  ripe  experience,  of  high  office, 
and  of  unquestionable  conscientiousness. 

The  project  of  establishing  the  university  was  now 
fairly  launched  in  full  view  of  the  Church  and  the 
world.  In  the  South  it  had  been  everywhere  hailed 
with  acclamation,  and  the  approval  of  multitudes  who 
were  in  no  way  connected  with  the  Church  was  appar- 
ently as  cordial  as  the  utterance  of  the  Church  itself. 
Indeed,  the  Church  seemed  to  be  strangely  quiet.  It 
had  been  called,  most  unexpectedly,  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  a  work  which  all  men  felt  to  be  necessary,  but 
which,  by  common  consent,  it  seemed  to  be  conceded 
the  Church  alone  was  capable  of  performing.  With- 
out hesitation,  but  equally  without  boastfulness,  the 
dioceses  of  the  South  accepted  the  duty  devolved  upon 
them.  One  by  one,  in  their  annual  diocesan  conventions, 
they  considered  the  proposition  submitted  to  them  by 
their  bishops,  and  unanimously  resolved  to  do  what  was 
required  of  them.  Delegates  were  chosen  in  every  dio- 
cese to  attend  a  meeting  which  had  been  appointed  to 
be  held  on  the  4th  of  July,  1857,  on  Lookout  Mount- 
ain, Tenn.,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  preliminary  steps 
toward  the  perfecting  of  an  efficient  organization  for 
the  founding  of  the  university. 

The  holding  of  that  meeting  on  the  anniversary  of  the 

1  See  "  University  of  the  South  Papers,"  vol.  i,  p.  15. 


^Et.  51]  SECTIONAL  ANIMOSITY.  245 

national  independence  of  the  United  States  was  intended 
to  proclaim  the  national  and  patriotic  sentiments  of  all 
who  were  engaged  in  the  enterprise.  In  the  original 
conception  and  in  every  detail  of  the  project  their  aims 
had  been  sincere.  In  undertaking  their  work  they  had 
thought  to  benefit  their  own  section,  not  only  without 
injury  to  any  other,  but  with  ultimate  advantage  to  their 
whole  country ;  and  yet  they  had  been  forced  to  recog- 
nize the  painful  fact  that  a  narrow  prejudice  had  caused 
a  beneficent  project,  which,  if  undertaken  at  the  North, 
would  be  regarded  as  a  source  of  just  pride,  to  be  con- 
sidered by  certain  of  their  northern  brethren  as  an  ob- 
ject of  suspicion  and  dislike.  It  was  humiliating  to  be 
compelled  to  recognize  the  existence  of  such  feelings; 
but  the  University  of  the  South  was  intended  to  be  not 
a  whit  more  sectional  and  not  a  whit  less  nationally 
patriotic  than  the  institutions  of  Harvard,  Yale,  Colum- 
bia, or  Princeton.  Its  promoters  knew  themselves  to  be 
sincere  lovers  of  their  whole  country.  In  the  veins  of 
some  of  them  flowed  the  blood  of  men  whose  swords 
had  aided  in  achieving  the  independence  of  these  States, 
and  whose  counsels  had  been  heeded  in  the  first  founda- 
tion of  the  Union.  If  sectional  animosity  had  sprung 
up,  no  influence  of  theirs  had  sown  or  fostered  it.  If 
the  Union  had  indeed  become  endangered,  they  were 
not  responsible.  In  their  places  as  citizens  and  as 
churchmen  they  were  loyal  alike  to  the  United  States 
and  to  the  several  States  to  which  they  owed  allegiance. 
The  work  in  which  they  were  engaged  was  meant  to 
further  purely  patriotic  ends;  and  they  resolved  that 
their  first  associated  act  should  be  a  public  celebration 
of  the  independence  of  their  country,  the  rearing,  as 
Otey  said,  not  of  an  altar  of  political  schism,  but  an 
"altar  of  witness"  to  the  loyalty  of  their  intentions. 


246        MEETING  AT  LOOKOUT  MOUNTAIN.      [1857 

The  trustees  assembled  for  the  first  time  at  Lookout 
Mountain,  near  Chattanooga,  in  the  State  of  Tennessee, 
on  the  4th  of  July,  1857.  Accompanied  by  a  goodly 
number  of  the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  Church,  and  of 
other  citizens,  they  formed  a  procession  and  marched  to 
the  place  appointed  for  the  exercises  of  the  day.  The 
flag  of  the  United  States  was  borne  by  a  surviving  sol- 
dier of  the  Revolution,  while  national  airs  were  played 
by  a  band  which  had  been  secured  for  the  occasion.  The 
assembled  company  sang  the  hundredth  Psalm,  and  then 
the  Bishop  of  Mississippi  read  the  twenty-second  chapter 
of  Joshua.  To  use  the  words  of  Bishop  Lay,  that  chap- 
ter "  recites  how  the  tribes  of  Reuben  and  Gad  and  the 
half  tribe  of  Manasseh  received  their  inheritance  '  on  the 
other  side  of  Jordan ' ;  and  how,  when  their  enemies 
were  all  defeated,  and  they  had  returned  to  their  homes, 
they  '  built  there  an  altar  by  Jordan,  a  great  altar  to  see 
to.'  It  describes  the  indignation  of  Israel ;  the  expostu- 
lation of  their  deputed  elders  against  what  seemed  to  be 
an  act  fraught  with  rebellion  and  hostile  to  the  peace 
and  unity  of  brethren ;  and  the  earnestness  with  which 
any  such  intentions  were  disclaimed.  They  had  said, 
'  Let  us  now  prepare  us  an  altar,  not  for  burnt-offering 
nor  for  sacrifice,  but  that  it  may  be  a  witness  between 
us  and  you,  and  our  generations  after  us,  that  we  might 
do  the  service  of  the  Lord,  .  .  .  that  your  children  may 
not  say  to  our  children  in  time  to  come,  Ye  have  no  part 
in  the  Lord/  The  reader  added  no  comment  to  this 
well-chosen  Scripture — already  every  heart  was  full. 
For  these  first  spoken  words  expressed  the  thought  of 
all,  that  not  in  malice  or  in  mischief,  not  in  rebellion  or 
in  disaffection,  had  we  come  together  beneath  the  blue 
sky ;  that,  so  far  from  rearing  an  altar  of  discontent,  we 
had  met  with  a  just  pride  in  our  common  heritage,  with 


Mt.  51]  SOUTHEEN  PATRIOTISM.  247 

an  abiding  devotion  to  our  common  faith,  with  more 
than  a  brother's  love  to  the  tribes  more  numerous  and 
more  favored  than  ourselves,  separated  from  the  hills 
and  streams  of  our  common  home."  After  the  lesson 
the  Te  Deum  was  sung,  prayers  were  offered  by  the 
Bishop  of  Alabama,  and  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis  was 
chanted  by  the  company.  Then  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  was  read,  and  Bishop  Otey  proceeded  to 
deliver  the  oration  of  the  day. 

"  Various  emotions,"  says  Dr.  Lay,  "  were  stirred  as 
the  right  reverend  speaker  uttered  his  earnest  words. 
The  reference  with  which  he  happily  began,  to  St.  Paul's 
claim  to  Roman  citizenship,  reminded  us  all  that  the 
patriot  is  not  of  necessity  lost  in  the  Christian  ;  that  in 
holding  aloft  the  cross  of  Christ  we  need  not  blush  to 
place  beneath  it  the  stars  and  stripes  5  and  that,  after 
the  echoes  of  the  hills  had  been  awaked  with  the  loftiest 
strains  of  Christian  praise,  it  was  not  unfitting  to  bid 
them  presently  give  back  the  animating  notes  of  free- 
dom's songs." 

"Thus  far,"  continues  the  narrator,  "the  flag  hung 
idly  from  its  staff  j  but  when  the  bishop  began  to  speak 
of  our  country  and  the  love  all  good  men  bear  it,  a 
breeze  came  to  stir  the  stars  and  stripes ;  and  still  as  he 
proceeded  to  denounce  the  thought  that  we  would  come 
with  holy  words  upon  our  lips  to  plot  mischief  against 
our  brethren,  the  flag  waved  more  proudly  than  before, 
seeking  the  person  of  the  speaker,  and  causing  his  words 
to  come,  as  it  were,  from  the  midst  of  its  folds.  As  the 
oration  progressed,  warm  tears  filled  many  an  eye  and 
would  not  be  repressed.  At  its  close  the  band  struck  up 
1  Hail  Columbia/  and  the  company  rose  to  their  feet. 
Many  hastened  to  thank  the  orator  for  the  just  expres- 
sion he  had  given  to  their  sentiments ;  then  all  dispersed 


248  "DECLARATION   OF  PRINCIPLES"         [1857 

and  might  be  seen  in  friendly  groups  still  prolonging 
the  pleasant  theme." 

The  next  day,  Sunday,  having  been  spent  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  religious  privileges,  the  board  met  on  Monday 
for  the  despatch  of  business,  and  adopted  a  "  Declaration 
of  Principles."  Several  necessary  committees  were  ap- 
pointed, particularly  one  to  collect  information  on  the 
subject  of  a  suitable  location  for  the  university,  and  the 
board  adjourned  again  to  meet  in  Montgomery,  Ala.,  in 
the  following  November. 

We  here  produce  a  letter  from  Bishop  Polk  to  his 
brother-in-law,  Mr.  Kenneth  Rayner,  of  North  Carolina, 
which  deals  with  the  subject  dwelt  upon  by  Bishop  Otey 
in  his  address;  and  any  one  who  is  familiar  with  the 
true  state  of  affairs  in  the  United  States  in  the  years 
during  which  the  effort  was  being  made  to  found  this 
university  can  but  acknowledge  that  it  strikes  close  to 
the  root  of  the  difficulty  which  rendered  possible  the 
war  between  the  States.  While  the  politicians  were  en- 
gaged in  drafting  compromises  Bishop  Polk  wrote : 

Beersheba  Springs,  Tenn.,  July  30,  1857. 
I  have  endeavored  to  keep  you  advised  of  the  progress  of 
my  scheme  for  founding  an  Oxford,  or  a  Gottingen,  or  a  Bonn, 
or  all  three  combined.  I  am  at  it  very  steadily,  and  thus  far 
very  successfully.  You  will  have  seen  in  the  papers  a  notice 
of  our  meeting  on  the  Fourth.  It  was  a  glorious  day  and  fixed 
the  success.  I  refer  you  to  the  account  in  the  Church  Jour- 
nal of  New  York,  to  be  published  shortly.  I  am  resolved, 
with  the  help  of  God,  that  this  thing  shall  be  felt  by  the  Church 
and  the  State.  I  am  sure  that  the  tone  of  the  admirable  ad- 
dress by  Otey,  every  word  of  which  I  indorse,  our  senior  and 
orator  on  the  occasion  of  the  organization,  will  satisfy  you 
and  all  Union-loving  men  very  thoroughly.  I  will  send  you  a 
copy  on  its  appearance.  You  will  perceive,  while  it  looks  to 
catering  to  our  own  immediate  wants,  it  breathes  a  spirit  of 


^t.  51]  FOB  NATIONAL  FEELING.  249 

broad  nationality.    I  understand  P is  afraid  it  will  injure 

Chapel  Hill.  But  we  shall  give  all  these  good  gentlemen  who 
indulge  in  talk  about  the  South  a  chance  to  show  their  hands. 
We  shall  see  what  they  mean  when  they  cry,  "  Down  with  the 
abolitionists  and  up  with  negrodom ! "  I  believe  it  will  do 
more  to  compose  and  reconcile  national  feeling  through  the 
Church  than  anything,  or  all  things  together,  that  Episcopa- 
lians have  attempted  heretofore,  besides  giving  us  as  a  sec- 
tion a  position  from  the  possession  of  such  an  educational 
resource  which  will  assure  to  us  a  respectability  and  influence 
of  more  consequence  than  all  sectional  political  combination. 
I  am  happy  to  say  a  spirit  of  enlightened  and  liberal  patriot- 
ism seems  to  animate  those  who  are  chiefly  interested,  and  we 
have  reason  to  believe  we  shall  not  want  the  means,  as  we  do 
not  lack  the  nerve,  to  carry  this  thing  steadily  and  quietly  to 
its  ultimate  consummation. 

The  interval  which  elapsed  between  the  meeting  at 
Lookout  Mountain  and  the  adjourned  meeting  at  Mont- 
gomery was  full  of  business.  The  bishop  was  chairman 
of  the  committee  on  the  location  of  the  university ;  and 
from  all  parts  of  the  district  within  which  it  had  been  re- 
solved to  select  a  site,  applications  poured  in  upon  him 
from  individuals  and  communities,  urging  a  considera- 
tion of  the  advantages  of  situations  in  which  they  were 
interested,  and  making  large  offers  of  material  contribu- 
tions in  case  the  points  which  they  recommended  should 
be  chosen.  Conspicuously  advantageous  offers  were  sent 
from  Atlanta,  Huntsville,  McMinnville,  Lookout  Mount- 
ain, and  Sewanee,  any  one  of  which  might  well  have 
been  accepted  with  satisfaction ;  but  the  bishop  was  re- 
solved to  let  no  consideration  weigh  with  him  against  the 
natural  features  which  he  had  held  to  be  essential  to  the 
realization  of  his  plans.  He  personally  examined  every 
proposed  site,  and,  not  content  with  his  own  impressions, 
he  organized  an  engineer  corps,  under  the  charge  of  an 


250  SEWANEE   THE   CHOICE.  [1857 

accomplished  engineer,  to  make  a  topographical  survey 
of  each  one  of  them.  The  minute  instructions  given 
to  the  engineer  were  from  Polk's  hand,  and  showed  the 
variety  of  the  research  on  which  he  was  resolved  to  base 
his  final  judgment. 

With  the  fullest  attainable  information  concerning 
the  places  proposed  for  the  location  of  the  university, 
the  board  of  trustees,  when  they  met  at  Montgomery, 
found  it  almost  impossible  to  make  a  selection.  Several 
ballots  were  taken  without  a  choice,  and  the  board  ad- 
journed for  several  hours  in  order  to  give  time  for  more 
mature  deliberation.  On  reassembling,  many  more  in- 
effectual ballots  were  had ;  but  on  the  seventeenth  ballot 
the  tellers  reported  that  Sewanee  had  been  chosen  by 
the  following  vote : 

Of  bishops :  Sewanee,  5 ;  Atlanta,  2. 

Of  the  clerical  and  lay  trustees :  Sewanee,  4  5  Hunts- 
ville,  2;  Atlanta,  1. 

Thus  Sewanee,  which  had  been  the  choice  of  Bishop 
Polk  from  the  first,  became  the  choice  of  all.  If  he  had 
pressed  his  preference  upon  his  colleagues,  the  end  might 
have  been  reached  in  less  time,  but  it  would  have  been 
less  satisfactory.  He  had  foreseen  that  no  agreement 
could  be  reached  in  favor  of  any  other  place,  and  he  felt 
sure  that  the  wonderful  adaptation  of  Sewanee  to  the 
objects  of  the  university  would  in  the  end  commend  it 
to  the  preference  of  a  majority  of  the  board.  Besides 
the  natural  advantages  to  be  mentioned  presently,  the 
offers  made  by  the  parties  interested  in  the  selection  of 
Sewanee  were  of  princely  liberality.  The  president  of 
the  Sewanee  Mining  Company  offered  in  the  name  of  the 
company  to  donate  5000  acres  of  land;  to  grant  the 
trustees  of  the  university  the  right  to  cut  from  other 
lands  belonging  to  the  company  pine  timber  to  the 


^Et.  51]  MAGNIFICENT  GIFTS.  251 

amount  of  1,000,000  feet  of  lumber  j  to  transport  over 
their  railroad  to  the  site  of  the  university  20,000  tons 
of  building-material,  free  of  charge;  and  to  give  the 
university  20,000  tons  of  coal  within  ten  years.  In 
addition  to  this,  a  wealthy  citizen  of  the  neighborhood 
offered  to  give  5000  acres  of  land  adjacent  to  the  tract 
offered  by  the  Sewanee  Company ;  and  three  other  gen- 
tlemen offered  a  third  tract  of  land,  described  as  "  cover- 
ing pretty  much  the  whole  track  of  the  Sewanee  Railroad 
on  the  side  of  the  mountain,  along  which  are  valuable 
quarries  of  sand  and  limestone,  and  on  which  there  is 
excellent  timber  for  building,  all  of  which  is  at  the  ser- 
vice of  the  university."  By  accepting  these  offers  the 
university  at  once  acquired  a  magnificent  domain  of 
about  ten  thousand  acres,  lying  on  a  gently  undulating 
plateau  nearly  two  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  and  eight  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  surrounding  country,  from  which  it  is  separated 
by  almost  perpendicular  cliffs j  with  every  material  for 
building  in  abundance — stone,  lime,  sand,  brick-clay, 
and  timber  of  the  best  quality — within  its  own  area; 
with  innumerable  springs  of  pure  water  bubbling  from 
the  rocks ;  with  ample  supplies  of  excellent  coal  within 
a  few  miles  and  to  be  had  at  a  very  moderate  cost ;  the 
whole  area  of  the  plateau  affording,  according  to  the 
report  of  the  engineer,  "  a  great  variety  of  picturesque 
sites  for  single  buildings,  and  extensive  level  areas  for 
groups,  commanding  beautiful  views  of  the  plains  below, 
and  of  towns  and  mountains  in  the  distance."  This 
superb  domain  is  reached  by  a  railroad  which  the  art  of 
the  constructor  has  made  to  climb  the  very  face  of  the 
precipice  by  which  the  plateau  is  elevated  above  the  plains 
beneath,  thus  bringing  the  site  of  the  university  within 
easy  access  of  all  the  dioceses  united  in  its  interest. 


252  CHOICE   OF  A   NAME.  [1857 

This  important  matter  having  been  apparently  settled, 
the  trustees  proceeded  to  make  choice  of  a  suitable  name 
for  the  university.  Three  names  were  proposed:  the 
University  of  the  South,  the  Church  University,  and  the 
University  of  Sewanee.  There  was  something  to  be  said 
for  and  against  all  these  names ;  but  the  almost  unani- 
mous judgment  of  the  trustees  was  that  the  first  was 
preferable  to  either  of  the  others,  and  it  was  accordingly 
adopted.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  obtain  from 
the  State  of  Tennessee  a  charter,  the  provisions  of  which 
had  been  carefully  considered,  and  then  the  laboring  oar 
was  put,  as  might  have  been  expected,  into  the  hands  of 
Polk  and  Elliott  by  their  appointment  as  commissioners 
to  raise  the  money  part  of  the  endowment  needed  for 
the  university.  The  condition  annexed  to  the  grant  of 
the  Sewanee  Company  required  that  "  active  operations 
on  the  buildings  be  begun  in  eighteen  months,"  and  the 
"Declaration  of  Principles7'  adopted  by  the  board  at 
its  first  meeting  had  pledged  them  not  to  put  the  uni- 
versity into  operation  until  the  sum  of  at  least  five  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  should  have  been  secured.  There 
was  every  indication,  however,  that  the  required  amount 
would  be  secured  within  a  very  short  time.  Bishop  Polk 
had  declared  in  his  first  letter  to  the  southern  bishops 
that  he  could  pledge  his  own  diocese  for  "  its  full  share 
of  whatever  means  might  be  required,"  and  the  grounds 
on  which  he  had  felt  authorized  to  give  this  assurance 
had  been  strengthened  by  the  voluntary  promises  of  cer- 
tain munificent  churchmen  in  Louisiana  and  elsewhere 
to  endow  professorships  as  soon  as  the  university  should 
be  prepared  to  put  its  schools  into  operation.  The  com- 
missioners had  every  reason  to  feel  confident ;  but,  with 
the  best  of  hope,  the  task  which  they  had  undertaken 
was  an  arduous  one,  demanding  much  self-sacrifice  and 


Mt.  51]      THE    UNIVERSITY  CHARTERED.  253 

no  little  sacrifice  from  others  dearer  than  themselves. 
"At  this  time/7  Mrs.  Polk  writes,  "  I  felt  as  if  I  had  lost 
my  husband,  and  as  if  my  children  had  lost  their  father. 
On  one  occasion  I  remember  saying,  greatly  to  his 
amusement,  { I  hate  the  university ! '  for,  as  I  said,  I  was 
willing  to  give  him  up  to  his  parish  or  his  diocese,  but 
this  seemed  to  be  an  outside  thing,  and  I  felt  as  if  I  were 
cheated  out  of  my  rights."  So  far  as  the  university  was 
concerned,  nothing  could  be  more  auspicious  than  the 
aspect  of  its  affairs  at  the  adjournment  of  the  meeting 
at  Montgomery.  It  had  acquired  a  magnificent  domain ; 
it  had  received  the  strongest  proofs  of  public  approba- 
tion )  it  had  practical  assurances  of  munificent  support ; 
and  it  had  secured  the  services  of  men  of  the  highest 
rank  and  of  the  maturest  wisdom. 

The  first  step  now  to  be  taken  was,  of  course,  the 
obtaining  of  a  charter  from  the  State  of  Tennessee, 
which  was  signed  by  the  Secretary  of  State  on  the  15th 
of  January,  1858,  and  granted  to  the  corporation  every 
power  for  which  they  applied.1  A  committee,  at  the 
head  of  which  were  Polk  and  Elliott,  had  been  appointed 
to  draft  a  constitution  and  code  of  statutes  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  university,  and  they  made  no  light  work 
of  their  task.  They  had  already  been  collecting  materials 
for  it  from  the  public  and  private  libraries  of  the  coun- 
try, and  through  the  assistance  of  the  government  at 
Washington  they  had  obtained  valuable  contributions 
from  abroad.  They  had  before  them  the  reports  of  Her 
Britannic  Majesty's  commissioners  appointed  to  inquire 

1  It  was  specially  provided  in  the  charter  that  the  university  might  be 
established  either  at  Sewanee  or  at  any  other  place  in  Tennessee  that  the 
trustees  might  select.  This  provision  was  inserted  because  of  an  un- 
founded rumor  which  had  been  spread  abroad,  but  which  was  speedily 
and  satisfactorily  set  at  rest,  that  Sewanee  was  infested  with  a  malarial 
disease  called  "milk-sickness." 


254  ENDOWMENT.  [1859 

into  the  state,  discipline,  studies,  and  revenues  of  the 
universities  and  colleges  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge, 
together  with  reports  and  calendars  of  Queen's  Univer- 
sity, Ireland,  King's  College,  London,  The  London  Uni- 
versity, and  of  many  schools  of  law,  medicine,  divin- 
ity, agriculture,  art,  and  applied  science.  From  France, 
also,  and  Germany,  they  had  an  immense  number  of 
educational  works  and  treatises  of  various  kinds.  These 
were  all  to  be  studied,  and  they  were  studied  faithfully. 
At  the  same  time  a  vast  correspondence  was  kept  up 
with  distinguished  educators,  scholars,  and  men  of  scien- 
tific attainments  from  whom  any  assistance  might  be 
had  in  considering  the  best  plans  of  organization.  Thus 
the  remainder  of  the  year  passed ;  and  before  its  close 
every  whisper  of  objection  to  Sewanee  had  been  hushed 
into  silence. 

The  appeal  of  the  commissioners  met  with  such  im- 
mediate and  gratifying  success  that  when  the  board  of 
trustees  again  met  at  Beersheba  in  the  month  of  August, 
the  following  report  of  what  had  been  accomplished  was 
presented : 

The  commissioners  appointed  to  collect  the  endowment  of 
the  University  of  the  South  beg  leave  to  report : 

That  they  have  given  as  much  time  as  could  be  spared 
from  their  parishes  and  dioceses  to  the  work  assigned  them, 
and  have  met  the  heartiest  response  from  that  portion  of  the 
country  which  they  have  been  able  to  visit.  The  collections 
have  been  confined  almost  entirely  to  Louisiana,  in  conse- 
quence of  having  begun  our  work  at  New  Orleans.  The  two 
or  three  months  which  we  found  it  possible  to  give  to  this 
duty  were  fully  occupied  in  the  field  upon  which  we  entered, 
nor  did  we  by  any  means  exhaust  that.  While  the  sum 
required  for  the  commencement  of  operations  could  have 
been  easily  secured  by  skimming  the  surface  of  the  associated 
dioceses,  the  large  endowment  we  propose  to  raise  required  a 


iEt.  53]  A   PRINCELY  DOMAIN.  255 

careful  and  special  canvassing  of  each  particular  diocese.  To 
do  this  requires  time.  From  the  intelligent  appreciation  of 
our  purposes  and  the  general  liberality  which  has  met  us 
everywhere,  we  feel  authorized  to  say  to  the  board  that  we 
consider  the  endowment  of  the  university  as  secure  beyond 
question. 

The  amount  we  have  received  in  cash,  bonds,  and  notes 
payable  in  available  periods  is  $363,580.  Besides  this  we 
have  pledged  from  entirely  reliable  parties,  to  be  fulfilled 
within  a  short  period,  about  $115,000  j  but  as  these  pledges 
have  not  yet  been  secured  by  bonds  or  notes,  we  have  not 
included  them  in  the  amount  reported. 

All  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

Leonidas  Polk. 

Stephen  Elliott. 
Beersheba,  August  12,  1859. 

At  the  same  meeting  the  treasurer  reported  that 
$2000  had  been  invested  for  the  university  in  Alabama, 
without  counting  a  sum  of  $20,000  given  for  the  pur- 
pose of  endowing  a  professorship  of  agriculture.  At 
the  same  meeting,  also,  the  committee  on  the  survey 
of  the  lands  of  the  university  reported  that  the  exact 
amount  of  land  which  had  been  conveyed  to  the  trustees 
at  Sewanee  was  9525  acres.  Thus,  after  a  partial  can- 
vass of  one  diocese  only,  and  within  the  space  of  less 
than  three  months,  more  than  half  a  million  dollars  had 
been  secured,  and  the  university  was  the  owner  of  a 
princely  domain  of  nearly  ten  thousand  acres  of  land. 
The  few  who  had  been  inclined  to  regard  Polk's  project 
as  visionary  were  effectually  silenced  by  such  an  instant 
response  to  his  appeal  to  the  liberality  of  his  fellow- 
churchmen  and  to  the  public  spirit  of  his  fellow-citizens. 
From  this  time  forward  till  the  fatal  catastrophe  of  the 
war  fell  upon  the  country,  no  one  doubted  that  he  would 
realize  in  its  entirety  the  grand  project  with  which  he 


256  RESIGNATION  OF  PARISH   WORK.        [1859 

had  so  signally  inspired  the  enthusiasm  of  the  South. 
It  was  evident  to  the  board,  however,  that  the  prosecu- 
tion of  the  work  of  raising  the  endowment  required  an 
amount  of  time  and  labor  which  must  render  it  impossi- 
ble for  Bishop  Polk  and  Bishop  Elliott,  both  of  whom 
were  rectors  of  parishes  as  well  as  diocesan  bishops,  to 
attend  to  their  parochial  duties,  and  a  resolution  was 
unanimously  adopted  requesting  them  to  resign  their 
parochial  cures  and  accept  an  annual  sum  of  money  to 
replace  the  income  derived  from  their  salaries  as  rectors. 
The  trustees  adjourned  at  Beersheba  to  meet  again  in 
New  Orleans  in  the  month  of  February  next  following. 
How  Bishop  Polk  was  employed  in  the  mean  season  will 
appear  from  the  following  letters : 

To  Bishop  Elliott. 

University  of  North  Carolina,  Chapel  Hill, 

September  20,  1859. 

My  dear  Elliott:  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  two  letters  to  Raleigh, 
and  I  have  to  say  that  more  exemplary  punctuality  or  more 
trenchant  promptitude  could  not  have  been  exhibited,  even  if 
you  had  been  a  martinet  in  that  particular  form  of  virtue. 

I  am  glad  the  books  *  have  arrived  safely.  It  is  a  valuable 
cargo,  and  could  not  readily  be  replaced.  I  trust,  too,  that 
when  we  come  to  their  examination  we  shall  deal  with  them 
neither  in  the  spirit  of  servile  copyists,  nor  yet  with  that  ridic- 
ulous modern  conceit  which  affects  superiority  to  the  lessons 
of  experience ;  but  that,  with  an  eye  to  the  peculiarities  of  our 
national  and  local  circumstances  and  necessities,  we  will  give 
to  everything  its  appropriate  value,  take  what  meets  our  own 
case,  and  leave  the  rest  alone. 

I  am  here  for  several  days,  domesticated  with  my  old  friend 
and  [college]  room-mate,  Governor  Swain.    I  have  had  full 

i  The  books  referred  to  here  were  those  sent  by  the  superintendents 
of  public  instruction  of  France  and  Prussia,  and  also  from  Oxford  and 
Cambridge,  England. 


JEt.  53]  ACTIVE    WOEK.  257 

and  extended  conversation  with  him  on  university  matters 
generally,  and  have  gotten  out  of  him  and  other  professors 
all  they  know  that  is  likely  to  be  of  any  value  to  us,  and 
some  valuable  hints  on  a  number  of  points  among  them. 
The  Episcopal  professors  are  all  delighted  with  our  plan  and 
all  very  full  of  it.  The  others  look  upon  it  with  great  re- 
spect, but  fear  the  effect,  of  course,  on  their  institution.  I 
have  done  what  I  could  to  allay  those  fears,  and  not  without 
success.  Swain,  of  course,  like  Thornwell,  thinks  the  State 
should  do  the  work,  but  says  that  for  our  plan,  quoad  hoc, 
the  Episcopal  Church  is  the  most  compact  and  perfect  thing 
that  has  ever  been  devised  on  this  continent. 

I  am  more  than  ever  convinced  of  the  importance,  neces- 
sity, and  surpassing  power  of  our  movement,  and  more  than 
ever  impressed  with  the  weight  of  responsibility  upon  us  who 
are  charged  with  shaping  its  life.  We  have  need  to  pray  for 
wisdom  and  prudence  and  moderation  and  judgment  as  few 
men  ever  had.  Yet  the  Lord  knoweth  our  motives,  and  we 
trust  will  bear  with  us  and  help  us. 

I  note  what  you  say  of  your  resignation.  I  dare  say  it  is 
what  you  should  have  done.  It  is  certain  we  shall  have  full 
occupation  for  some  years  to  come. 

But  of  all  these  things  we  shall  talk  more  fully  at  conven- 
tion. The  course  of  the  campaign  for  the  winter  you  indi- 
cate, so  far  as  I  can  see,  is  satisfactory. 

I  remain  yours  faithfully, 

Leonidas  Polk. 

Washington,  D.  C,  November  4,  1859. 

My  dear  Elliott :  I  find  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  get  to 
you  so  soon  as  I  expected.  I  shall  therefore  appoint  the  25th 
of  November  as  the  day  of  meeting  in  Savannah.  I  shall 
notify  others  of  the  day. 

I  had  a  very  interesting  visit  to  Lexington.  I  got  out  of 
Colonel  Smith  and  his  associates  some  very  useful  hints.  He 
has  a  noble  institution,  and  is  doing  a  good  work  for  the  State 
of  Virginia  and  the  whole  South.  He  can,  and  will,  be  of  great 
use  to  us. 


258  EDUCATIONAL  INVESTIGATION.  [1859 

I  came  here  the  day  before  yesterday,  and  since  I  have 
been  here  I  have  been  constantly  employed  in  collecting  use- 
ful matter  in  various  departments.  I  have  failed  in  the  affair 
of  the  landscape-gardener.  He  would  be  perhaps  the  man  we 
want,  but  his  health  forbids  his  coming  to  us,  and  we  must 
look  elsewhere. 

I  examined,  with  my  friend  Colonel  Anderson  of  the  army, 
the  public  buildings  going  up  under  the  care  of  my  old  friend 
Captain  Bowman  of  the  engineers,  in  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment, and  have  obtained  a  good  many  ideas  in  that  line,  and 
have  established  a  connection  for  future  use. 

Yesterday  I  spent  the  day  and  dined  with  Professor  Bache 
of  the  Coast  Service,  another  of  my  West  Point  associates 
and  friends.  He  invited  Professor  Henry  of  the  Smithsonian 
to  join  us,  and  we  went  very  fully  into  educational  matters, 
and  discussed  our  plans  very  fully.  They  are  both  very  deeply 
impressed  with  the  importance  of  our  work,  and  enter  into 
its  development  with  strong  sympathy  and  generous  offers  of 
assistance. 

Henry  invited  me  over  to  the  Smithsonian  to-day.  I  went, 
and  examined  his  work  thoroughly.  It  is  a  very  extended 
affair,  and  is  accomplishing  a  great  work  for  the  increase  and 
diffusion  of  knowledge.  It  is  far  in  advance  of  anything  I 
had  conceived.  Many  of  the  best  of  his  plans  may  be  appro- 
priated by  us  with  advantage. 

I  leave  in  the  morning  for  Philadelphia,  and  shall  hope  to 
meet  my  daughters  the  first  of  next  month  on  their  return 
from  Europe.  I  shall  spend  a  few  days  with  them  in  Phila- 
delphia, then  go  to  West  Point,  and,  if  I  can,  to  Harvard  for 
a  day  or  so,  thence  to  join  you  at  Savannah. 

I  exceedingly  regret  that  you  could  not  be  with  me  in  this 
visit  to  the  Point,  and  Harvard  especially;  and  if  I  saw  any 
way  by  which  it  could  be  done  in  time  for  our  uses,  before 
the  preparation  of  our  report  at  a  later  day,  I  would  pro- 
pose to  have  you  aid  in  the  work  of  inspection :  but  this  I 
do  not  see. 

With  kind  regards  to  Mrs.  Elliott  and  the  little  ones, 

Yours  very  truly,  Leonidas  Polk. 


mt.M]  ADOPTION   OF  CONSTITUTION.  259 

The  board  of  trustees  met  in  New  Orleans  on  Febru- 
ary 8, 1860,  and  continued  in  session  until  the  13th,  con- 
sidering a  draft  of  a  proposed  constitution  and  statutes 
for  the  university  which  had  been  prepared  by  a  com- 
mittee consisting  of  Bishops  Polk,  Elliott,  Rutledge,  and 
Lay,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Pise,  and  Messrs.  Fairbanks  of  Florida, 
Cooper  of  Georgia,  and  Fogg  of  Tennessee.  After  a 
careful  revision  the  report  of  the  committee  was  laid 
over  for  final  consideration  and  adoption  at  a  meeting 
to  be  held  at  Sewanee  on  the  9th  of  October  following, 
at  which  time  it  was  arranged  that  the  cornerstone  of 
the  university  should  be  laid  with  appropriate  cere- 
monies. Pursuant  to  adjournment,  the  board  reassem- 
bled at  the  appointed  time,  and  remained  in  session  for 
four  days,  during  which  the  constitution  and  statutes 
were  finally  adopted,  and  the  cornerstone  was  laid. 

The  constitution  and  statutes  are  given  in  an  appen- 
dix.1 It  is  not  necessary  to  discuss  them  at  length. 
When  it  is  remembered  that,  at  that  time,  the  idea  of  a 
university  as  a  school  of  all  learning,  and  not  merely 
a  college  of  the  then  existing  American  pattern,  had 
hardly  yet  been  imagined  by  the  greater  number  of 
American  educators,  it  will  readily  be  perceived  that 
the  plan  of  the  proposed  University  of  the  South  an- 
ticipated the  immense  educational  advance  which  has 
marked  the  progress  of  the  past  thirty  years.  It  would 
be  too  much  to  say  that  it  was  perfect  in  detail ;  in  some 
particulars  it  would  certainly  have  required  important 
modifications.  Nevertheless,  making  the  largest  allow- 
ance for  its  defects,  no  one  who  is  intimately  acquainted 
with  the  state  of  the  higher  education  in  this  country  at 
that  time  can  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the  magnificence 

l  See  Appendix  to  Chapter  VI. 


260  BISHOP  HOPKINS  AT  SEWANEE.         [1860 

of  the  project  or  the  far-sighted  wisdom  of  the  educa- 
tional system  which  it  proposed. 

As  the  work  of  organization  progressed,  Bishop  Polk's 
heart  was  gladdened  by  finding  in  Bishop  Hopkins  a 
most  encouraging  and  helpful  friend.  This  was  all  the 
more  grateful  to  him,  as  coming  from  a  man  he  greatly 
esteemed,  and  a  bishop  who  held  so  commanding  a  posi- 
tion among  northern  churchmen.  He  induced  him  to 
spend  some  time  at  Sewanee,  that  Bishop  Elliott  and  he 
might  avail  themselves  of  his  suggestions  and  counsel. 
The  following  extracts  from  letters  to  Bishop  Polk  show 
how  deeply  the  Bishop  of  Vermont  was  impressed  by 
the  work.  On  March  26,  1860,  he  writes :  "  The  more  I 
reflect  upon  it,  the  more  I  am  convinced  of  the  relig- 
ious and  moral  grandeur  of  your  plan."  Again,  on  the 
25th  of  July  of  the  same  year :  "  You,  and  your  admira- 
ble colleague,  Bishop  Elliott,  have  a  firm  hold  upon  my 
strongest  confidence,  and  my  most  cordial  sympathies. 
The  Lord  has  raised  you  up  for  the  noblest  work  in 
your  day  and  generation,  and  it  is  my  earnest  hope  and 
daily  prayer  that  you  may  be  guided  by  His  unerring 
wisdom  to  the  full  attainment  of  your  most  sanguine 
anticipations." 

Writing  to  Mrs.  Polk  under  date  of  February  14, 
1867,  he  said : 

My  own  visit  to  the  grounds  intended  for  the  great  Uni- 
versity of  the  South  was  the  result  of  your  dear  husband's 
kind  partiality.  The  grand  enterprise  itself  was  suggested 
by  his  mind,  and  his  extraordinary  influence  and  zeal  had 
already  secured  for  it,  within  his  own  diocese,  half  a  million 
of  dollars.  He  brought  with  him  to  Sewanee  at  that  time  a 
large  box  entirely  filled  with  the  results  of  correspondence 
with  the  leading  men  in  Europe,  and  the  scholastic  institu- 
tions of  the  Old  World,  as  well  as  the  laborious  and  thor- 


^Et.  54]         LAYING   THE   CORNERSTONE.  261 

oughly  digested  projects  for  the  southern  university,  which, 
when  completed,  was  to  be  the  noblest  and  best-endowed  in 
Christendom.  And  as  he  unfolded  the  design,  and  gave  me 
some  idea  of  the  vast  amount  of  toilsome  work  accomplished 
by  Bishop  Elliott  and  himself  in  its  preparation,  I  was  amazed 
and  delighted  at  the  combination  of  original  genius,  lofty  en- 
terprise, and  Christian  hope  with  the  utmost  degree  of  prac- 
tical wisdom,  cautious  investigation,  exquisite  tact,  and  inde- 
fatigable energy,  which  far  surpassed  all  that  I  could  conceive 
within  the  bounds  of  human  efficiency.  In  fact,  I  was  almost 
carried  away  by  my  admiration  of  the  grand  conception ;  and 
if  circumstances  had  rendered  it  possible  I  would  have  been 
willing  to  enlist  my  own  moderate  ability  under  his  master 
mind  to  aid  in  its  execution. 

On  the  ninth  day  of  October,  1860,  the  cornerstone  of 
the  university  was  laid  by  Bishop  Polk,  with  appropriate 
ceremonies,  and  in  the  presence  of  a  concourse  of  several 
thousand  spectators.  Bishop  Otey  of  Tennessee  pre- 
sided. The  orator  of  the  day  was  the  Hon.  Colonel  John 
S.  Preston,  of  South  Carolina.  Toward  the  close  of  his 
address  Colonel  Preston  pointed  to  the  bishops  on  the 
platform,  and  said:  "This  movement  we  owe  to  the 
band  of  holy  men  who  have  devoted  their  gifts  to  an 
enterprise  of  Christian  patriotism.  I  cannot  praise  them 
with  fulsome  eulogy,  nor  can  I  discriminate  their  several 
shares  in  this  work ;  but  you  and  they  and  the  world 
will  feel  that  I  am  not  to  blame  if  I  turn  to  you,  right 
reverend  sir  [addressing  Bishop  Polk],  and  say  of  you,  as 
the  Roman  historian  said  of  Alexander,  <  He  took  cour- 
age to  despise  vain  apprehensions ; '  and  further,  that 
whensoever  it  shall  please  God,  your  Master,  to  stay 
your  radiant  right  arm  from  his  battlefields  on  earth, 
and  call  you  to  His  everlasting  triumphs,  the  heavens 
and  your  grateful  country  will  read  upon  your  tomb 
1  The  Founder  of  the  University  of  the  South.' n     It  was 


262  GROWTH  OF  THE  PLAN.  [1860 

recorded  by  the  Rev.  John  Freeman  Young,  afterward 
Bishop  of  Florida,  that  this  just  and  generous  apostro- 
phe moved  the  vast  assembly  to  immense  applause,  not 
unmingled  with  tears.  After  a  recess  for  refreshment, 
addresses  were  delivered  by  Commander  Maury,  of  the 
United  States  Observatory  at  Washington ;  by  President 
Barnard,  of  the  University  of  Mississippi,  afterward 
president  of  Columbia  College ;  by  Bishop  Smith,  of  Ken- 
tucky, afterward  presiding  bishop  of  the  Church  in  the 
United  States ;  and  by  the  Hon.  J.  Bright,  of  Tennessee. 
Only  the  gathering  shades  of  night  compelled  the  vast 
audience  to  disperse,  filled  with  the  inspiration  of  a  glo- 
rious purpose  which  was  never  to  be  realized  during  the 
life  of  any  one  of  its  original  promoters. 

In  this  imperfect  outline  of  the  organization  of  the 
university  which  Bishop  Polk  proposed  to  make  the 
great  work  of  his  life,  enough  has  been  said  to  tell  how 
the  germ  of  his  purpose  grew  out  of  his  own  experience 
and  observations  which  he  made  at  a  very  early  period 
of  his  life  •  how  it  expanded  and  matured  in  his  mind 
for  many  years,  till  the  propitious  moment  seemed  to 
have  come  for  its  inception ;  how  he  then  proposed  to 
meet  a  want  which  all  men  felt,  but  which  none  before 
him  had  imagined  could  be  met  at  all ;  how  he  infused 
the  ardor  of  his  own  spirit  and  the  grandeur  of  his  own 
conception  into  the  Church  and  people  of  his  section ; 
how  he  grappled  with  the  difficulties  which  beset  him  in 
his  work,  and  showed  by  actual  demonstration  that  his 
scheme  was  as  practicable  as  it  was  magnificent  and 
beneficent ;  how  he  organized  the  separate  weakness  of 
the  southern  dioceses  into  such  united  strength  as  to 
command  the  public  confidence  and  approbation;  how 
he  secured  to  the  university  a  domain  of  absolute  mag- 
nificence ;  and  how  he  collected  from  a  partial  canvass  of 


JEt.54]  DESERVED  SUCCESS.  263 

one  diocese  only,  the  large  snm  of  nearly  half  a  million 
of  dollars,  thus  assuring,  under  any  ordinary  circum- 
stances, the  full  endowment  of  three  millions  which  he 
had  at  first  declared  to  be  necessary  for  the  achievement 
of  his  plan.  We  have  seen  the  pure  sincerity  and  the 
noble  simplicity  which  illustrated  every  step  of  his  pro- 
gress toward  the  end  at  which  he  aimed,  the  generous, 
courteous  candor  with  which  he  disarmed  opposition  and 
conciliated  sympathy,  and  the  statesmanlike  sagacity 
with  which  he  was  content  to  leave  trivial  faults  to  be 
corrected  by  general  consent,  when  experience  should 
demonstrate  their  inexpediency.  None  of  these  things 
is  it  needful  to  exaggerate  or  magnify.  It  is  enough  for 
this  man  that  he  should  be  known  for  what  he  was. 
Neither  need  we  dwell  on  the  misfortune  of  the  failure 
of  his  plans.  That,  too,  may  be  left  to  the  hearts  of  all 
who  can  shed  tears  for  great  things  lost  and  great  men 
who  have  failed  in  them.  The  record  of  his  deeds  and 
purposes  are  his  best  eulogy.  Of  the  failure  of  his  plans 
— if  they  have  indeed  failed,  which  is  by  no  means  cer- 
tain—  it  is  enough  to  say, 

'Tis  not  in  mortals  to  command  success  j 

but  he  did  more, —  he  deserved  it! 

[A  noble  man  physically  and  socially,  with  a  mind  of  in- 
stinctive coordination,  and  with  every  endowment  to  draw 
others  to  him  and  interest  them  in  what  he  had  in  his  heart, 
and  with  grace,  and  that  undefinable  power  of  holding  others 
to  his  objects,  Bishop  Polk  was  undoubtedly  the  man  who 
originated  the  notion  of  a  union  of  dioceses  in  the  founda- 
tion of  the  University  of  the  South.  And  without  at  all 
detracting  from  his  noble  and  gifted  compeers,  whose  special 
services  in  this  matter  are  properly  inscribed  in  their  indi- 
vidual memoirs,  it  is  likewise  true  that  to  Bishop  Polk's  per- 
sonal influence  and  genius  for  organization  is  due  the  merit 


264  A    GLORIOUS   VISION.  [1860 

of  successfully  inaugurating  the  movement.  His  appeal  to 
the  planters  of  Louisiana  and  the  other  southern  dioceses 
for  indorsement  in  the  premises  and  for  funds  was,  in 
its  promptness  and  consummation,  like  a  brilliant  military 
movement.  As  it  were,  in  one  campaign  the  success  of  the 
University  of  the  South  was  assured.  What  special  part 
Bishop  Polk  had  in  the  wise  suggestions  as  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  institution,  the  modesty  and  high  breeding  of  the 
man  leaves  no  recorded  trace ;  but  from  the  wise  selection  of 
commissioners  to  study  the  plans  of  the  best  universities,  at 
home  and  abroad,  as  to  composition  and  methods,  from  the 
character  of  their  reports,  and  from  the  patient  analysis  which 
resulted  in  the  statutes  of  this  university,  one  seems  to  detect 
the  mind  of  the  great  general,  in  which  action  follows  only 
upon  exhaustive  observation. 

But  Bishop  Polk  and  his  colleagues,  after  having,  as  far 
as  human  foresight  could  do  so,  founded  and  endowed  a 
university  great  beyond  the  conception  of  anything  that  this 
country  then  had  in  the  way  of  educational  institutions,  got 
only  a  glimpse  of  his  vision  of  faith  and  splendid  achieve- 
ment. It  was  a  glorious  vision,  that  faded,  however,  in  war, 
defeat,  and  death.  There  were  two  glimpses  of  it.  The  first 
we  can  understand.  The  second  is  shrouded  in  mystery  that 
will  be  disclosed  only  at  the  last  day. 

The  first  glimpse  of  what  must  have  been  his  "most  bea- 
tific vision  "  as  regards  this  university  was  in  the  fall  of  the 
year  1860,  when  he  came  with  a  goodly  company  of  bishops 
and  clergy  of  the  Church  "to  lay  in  Zion  for  a  foundation 
stone,  a  tried  stone,  a  precious  cornerstone,  a  sure  founda- 
tion "  of  the  school  that  seemed,  Minerva-like,  to  have  sprung 
fully  equipped  from  the  sea  of  ignorance,  degradation,  secu- 
larism, and  materialism,  that  even  in  that  day  could  be  de- 
scried by  the  prophetic  eyes  of  those  men  as  the  great  danger 
to  the  best  development  of  this  land.  We  can  all  understand 
that  that  glimpse  of  the  vision  must  have  gladdened  his  heart 
as  he  saw  around  him  on  the  mountain-top  the  largest  and 
most  distinguished  gathering  of  people  which  has  ever  been 
collected  at  Sewanee. 


ML  59]       RESULTS  OF  THE   CIVIL    WAM.  265 

But  no  man  can  read  the  mystery  of  that  glimpse  of  the 
vision  that  came  to  him  three  years  later  (1863),  when  as 
general  he  passed  with  his  army  corps  in  retreat  over  this 
same  mountain,  obstinately  contending  for  the  liberties  of  his 
people.  With  a  broken  heart,  indeed,  he  must  have  passed 
down  from  the  place  of  his  loves  and  hopes,  leaving  it  to  the 
invader,  who  ground  to  pieces  that  cornerstone  of  the  uni- 
versity which  he  had  seen  laid  with  so  much  enthusiasm 
and  reverence  only  a  few  years  before. 

Bishop  Polk's  direct  impress  upon  the  University  of  the 
South  was,  of  course,  before  the  late  war.  It  was  then  that 
his  most  brilliant  work  was  done  for  it;  but  by  no  means  his 
most  lasting  work. 

The  war  left  the  University  of  the  South  only  its  princely 

domain  at  Sewanee,  its  charter  and  statutes,  and  the  notion 

of  a  real  university.     These  latter  were  the  true  legacies  left 

by  the  founders  of  this  work;  and  so  genuine  are  they,  as 

pertaining  to  the  need  of  this  country  for  higher  culture,  so 

wise,  and  so  far-reaching,  that  no  room  is  left  for  amendment. 

They  have  been  severely  hammered  by  different  boards  of 

trustees,  but  they  retain  their  original  form,  and  are  ever 

reverted  to  with  relief  after  tentative  excursions  from  their 

secure  bases. 

Telfair  Hodgson, 

Dean  of  the  Tlieological  Department. 

At  the  close  of  the  civil  war  in  1865,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Charles 
T.  Quintard,  Bishop  of  Tennessee,  revisited  the  site  of  the 
University  of  the  South.  He  found  the  domain  a  wilderness, 
the  buildings  in  ashes,  the  very  cornerstone  in  fragments. 
The  splendid  endowment  which  had  been  secured  by  the  per- 
sonal efforts  of  Bishop  Polk  and  Bishop  Elliott  had  been  swept 
away.  There  seemed  to  be  no  hope  of  reviving  the  institution. 
However,  an  organization  was  effected  in  1867  by  the  election 
of  Bishop  Quintard  as  Vice-Chancellor  and  Major  George  R. 
Fairbanks  as  Commissioner  of  Buildings  and  Lands;  and  the 
same  year  a  grammar-school  was  opened  at  Sewanee  with  nine 
pupils,  and  little  by  little  a  community  was  formed,  buildings 
were  erected,  and  the  school  placed  upon  a  permanent  basis. 


266  AN  IDEAL  IN  EDUCATION  [1S76 

In  1871  the  academic  department  of  the  university  was  or- 
ganized by  the  election  of  five  professors.  The  theological 
department,  with  four  professors,  was  opened  in  1876 ;  the 
medical  department  in  1892,  and  the  law  department  in  1893. 
The  heroic  struggle  of  the  university  made  it  more  and 
more  widely  known  throughout  the  country,  and  drew 
together  in  its  faculty  men  of  fine  learning  and  lofty  aims, 
who  fixed  high  its  standard  of  scholarship,  and  left  upon  it 
the  indelible  impress  of  their  own  enthusiasm  and  faith. 
It  is  for  this  reason  chiefly  that  the  institution  has  held  its 
own,  without  endowment,  in  the  midst  of  so  many  well- 
equipped  State  universities  that  have  come  into  existence 
since  the  war.  It  stands  for  a  true  ideal  in  education.  The 
requirements  for  the  ordinary  academic  degrees  are  perhaps 
higher  than  those  of  any  other  southern  university,  with 
one  possible  exception ;  and  the  severest*  trials  have  never 
induced  its  professors  to  lower  this  standard  for  the  sake  of 
popularity.  The  moral  and  intellectual  atmosphere  of  the 
place  is  so  pure  and  bracing,  the  relations  between  the  pro- 
fessors and  students  are  so  frank  and  cordial,  the  enthusiasm 
is  so  unbounded,  that  these  characteristics,  along  with  its 
peculiar  and  picturesque  surroundings,  give  the  University 
of  the  South  a  unique  and  attractive  personality.  At  the 
last  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  there  were  twenty- 
eight  professors  and  somewhat  over  three  hundred  students 
reported  on  the  roll.  The  theological  department,  supported 
by  the  voluntary  offerings  of  the  southern  dioceses,  has 
already  sent  out  more  than  one  hundred  clergymen,  one  of 
them  a  bishop  of  distinguished  ability  and  influence,  and 
all  of  them  well  furnished  and  consecrated  to  their  work. 
This  school  has  been  the  recipient  of  several  benefactions 
in  the  last  few  years  for  scholarships,  etc.,  amounting  to 
about  $75,000,  and  it  is  hoped  that  a  permanent  endowment 
will  soon  be  secured.  The  university  has  been  enabled  by 
generous  friends  from  time  to  time  to  erect  fine  permanent 
buildings,  viz :  the  Hodgson  Library,  given  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Telfair  Hodgson  ;  St.  Luke's  Theological  Hall, 
given  by  Mrs.   C.  M.  Manigault;  the  Convocation  House, 


1893]  SUCCESS  ASSURED.  267 

largely  the  result  of  gifts  from  Mr.  Wiley  B.  Miller  and  Mr. 
Thomas  Breslin ;  the  Thompson  Medical  Hall,  named  after 
the  largest  donor,  Mr.  Jacob  Thompson  j  and  the  Walsh 
Memorial  Hall,  a  magnificent  building,  containing  all  the 
offices  and  lecture -rooms  of  the  academic  department,  given 
by  Colonel  V.  D.  Walsh.  These  buildings  are  all  of  Sewanee 
stone,  and,  without  exception,  beautiful  and  imposing  in  de- 
sign. In  1890  the  Board  of  Trustees  adopted  a  plan  for  the 
university  buildings,  consisting  of  two  large  quadrangles,  a 
bold  and  striking  application  of  principles  suggested  by  the 
buildings  of  Magdalen  College,  Oxford.  The  group  com- 
prises the  Convocation  House  and  the  Walsh  Memorial  Hall 
on  the  left,  which  have  already  been  erected,  and  the  Chapel, 
Cloisters,  Gymnasium,  and  Commencement  Hall  in  the  center 
and  on  the  right,  for  which  funds  are  now  being  solicited. 

It  will  be  thus  seen  that  the  University  of  the  South  has 
had  a  severe  struggle  for  existence.  And  yet  the  success 
achieved  is  almost  without  parallel  for  the  same  period. 
Instead  of  money  it  has  had  the  faith  and  self-sacrifice  of 
its  officers,  the  love  and  enthusiasm  of  its  students,  and  its 
history,  so  sad  in  many  respects,  so  encouraging  in  others, 
has  delivered  the  institution  forever  from  commonplace  and 
narrow  aims,  has  inspired  it  with  great  ideals,  and  has 
broadened  its  vision  because  it  has  enriched  its  life. 

Thomas  F.  Gailor.] 
Vice-  Chancellor. .1 


268  ORIGIN  OF  "  SEWANEE." 

"The  University  of  the  South  by  common  consent 
owes  its  inception  to  the  great  Bishop  of  Louisiana, 
Leonidas  Polk,  who  took  the  initial  steps  for  its  estab- 
lishment in  1856."  This  opening  of  the  first  sentence 
in  Major  Fairbanks's  "  History  of  the  University  of  the 
South "  is  so  gracious  in  its  concession  to  Leonidas 
Polk  we  hesitate  to  offer  any  dissent  to  the  following 
qualification,  "but  it  may  not  be  unprofitable  to  devote 
some  attention  to  the  preceding  efforts  of  Bishop  Otey 
of  Tennessee  to  set  on  foot  a  church  college  and  semi- 
nary for  the  benefit  of  his  own  and  adjoining  dioceses 
which  he  aimed  to  associate  jointly  in  the  scheme,  efforts 
in  which,  as  will  be  seen,  Bishop  Polk  took  a  prominent 
part,  and  which  no  doubt  led  to  the  movement  which  he 
inaugurated  in  1856  for  the  founding  of  a  church  uni- 
versity for  the  Southern  states,  as  the  result  of  which 
the  University  of  the  South  has  been  established  and 
now  exists." 

We  wish  we  could  find  some  document,  sentence  or 
line,  which  would  lift  this  qualification  from  the  plane 
of  conjecture.  That  it  is  warranted  by  the  law  of 
"suggestion"  is  plain,  but  the  source  of  the  suggestion 
is  less  evident.  Certain  other  springs  of  inspiration  or 
suggestion  must  be  ignored  if  the  writings  and  works 
of  Bishop  Otey  are  to  be  set  first  in  this  enterprise. 
These  works  and  writings  were  very  admirable  but  we 
fail  to  find  in  them  anything  new  or  startling  upon  the 
subject  of  education;  viewed  even  from  the  standpoint  of 
1830  they  are  subject  to  the  same  limitations  which  can 
be  applied  to  Bishop  Polk's  letter  of  1856;  nothing  is 
found  not  known  to  the  educated  priests  to  whom  they 
were  addressed,  not  even  the  union  of  church  forces, 
which  was  long  an  accomplished  fact  with  other  churches 
in  the  same  field  and  not  unknown  in  our  own.     We  also 


ORIGIN  OF  "  SEWANEE."  269 

fail  to  find  that  anything  beyond  the  recognized  type  of 
theological  school  and  classical  seminary  was  contem- 
plated, the  latter  in  reality  being  something  in  the  nature 
of  a  high  school :  the  name  college  appears  to  have  killed 
the  enterprise,  for  in  spite  of  Resolutions  it  died  in 
committee  soon  after  it  was  so  designated. 

When  we  turn  from  the  original  papers,1  and  study 
expressions  used  in  featuring  this  claim  for  Bishop  Otey, 
one  cannot  avoid  the  conclusion  that  they  were  written 
after,  rather  than  before  the  authors  had  become  familiar 
with  Bishop  Polk's  own  writings  upon  the  subject,  as 
well  as  with  the  expression  of  these  writings  in  his 
mouldings  of  the  plans  of  the  University.  As  to  Bishop 
Polk's  letter  of  1856  there  is  nothing  in  it  new  or  startling 
unless  it  be  the  masterly  manner  in  which  the  forces 
available  for  the  University  are  marshalled  therein  and 
launched  at  the  objective,  the  Bishops. 

These  two  Bishops,  beginning  about  1833,  formed  an 
intimacy  and  friendship  which  lasted  their  lives;  they 
frequently  conferred  upon  the  several  educational  enter- 
prises engaging  Bishop  Otey's  attention  in  the  thirties, 
and  Mr.  Polk  and  his  brothers  were  associated  with 
the  Bishop  in  some  of  these  enterprises,  notably  with 
that  which  culminated  in  the  Columbia  Female  Institute. 
But  in  estimating  how  far  Leonidas  Polk  was  the  recep- 
tor, one  must  not  lose  sight  of  his  personal  characteris- 
tics, nor  his  antecedents.  He  was  an  honored  graduate 
of  one  of  the  first  schools  in  the  world,  was  offered  at 
graduation  the  Chair  of  Mathematics  in  Amherst  Semi- 
nary, later  Amherst  College;  he  was  a  well  educated 
priest  whose  travels  at  home  and  abroad  had  brought 
under  his  keen  and    interested   eye  the  leading  uni- 

1  Life,  James  Hervey  Otey,  by  Rt.  Rev.Wm.  M.  Green  and  Hist.  Uni- 
versity South,  by  Geo,  R,  Fairbanks. 


270  BISHOP  QUINTARD'S  TESTIMONY. 

versities  of  his  own  and  European  countries;  his  grand- 
father was  the  main  instrument  in  the  creation  of  the 
first  college  in  North  Carolina,  Queens  College  at  Char- 
lotte; his  father,  with  whom  he  was  on  the  closest  terms, 
had  been  for  years  a  trustee  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  and  for  thirty  years  its  vigilant  supporter. 
Virtually  Colonel  Polk  was  a  founder  of  the  University 
of  Nashville  in  that  he  introduced  and  had  passed  the 
bill  chartering  and  endowing  Davidson  Seminary  at 
Nashville,  of  which  he  became  a  trustee,  and  later  lent 
himself  to  its  conversion  into  the  University.  In  reality 
Leonidas  Polk,  before  reaching  Tennessee,  had  already 
appropriated  impressions  which,  with  his  vigorous  mind, 
were  more  likely  to  make  him  a  giver  than  a  receiver  of 
such  gifts  from  his  co-workers;  and  indeed  in  all  that  he 
did  for  education  then  and  in  after  life,  he  was  but  an- 
swering the  call  of  his  Scotch  blood. 

We  now  give  a  letter  from  Bishop  Quintard,  the  man 
who  assembled  the  wreckage  of  the  University,  renewed 
its  life  and  launched  it  again  upon  its  wonderful  career. 

Sewanee,  Tenn.,  10  Dec,  '85. 
Wm.  M.  Polk,  M.D. 
New  York. 
My  dear  Friend:    I  thank  you  very  much  for  your  letter  of 
the  6th.    I  shall  be  very  glad  to  have  a  likeness  of  your  honored 
father  in  Dr.  Lindsley's  book.    I  am  obliged  to  you  for  all  you 
say  about  the  University.    Of  course  the  Anti  and  post-bellum 
chapters  of  its  history  are  entirely  distinct.    All  that  was  left 
to  us  after  the  war  was  the  landed  estate  and  the  priceless 
treasures  of  names  such  as  Polk  and  Otey  and  Elliott  and  Cobbs, 
their  hopes  and  plans  and  prayers.    The  first  chapter  of  our 
history  was  rounded  out,  and  closed  up  when  Lee  surrendered 
at  Appomattox.     Of  the  seven  Bishops  who  met  at  Lookout 
Mountain  on  that  memorable  Fourth  of  July  1857  —  all  had 


BISHOP  QUINTARD'S  TESTIMONY.  271 

gone  to  their  rest  except  the  Bishop  of  Mississippi  and  South 
Carolina,  the  former  well  advanced  in  age  when  the  war  closed 
(he  is  now  87)  and  the  latter  totally  blind.  Of  the  clerical 
Trustees  Drs.  Gregg  and  Lay  had  been  advanced  to  the  Episco- 
pate but  when  the  war  closed  the  first  period  of  our  history 
closed  with  it.  What  credit  is  due  to  your  dear  father  for  the 
"original  conception  of  this  institution  may  be  a  matter  of 
documents"  as  you  say — but  all  the  documents  published 
during  the  lifetime  of  Bishops  Polk  and  Otey  indicate  that 
your  father's  plan  was  his  own.  Thus  in  a  "Narrative"  pub- 
lished with  Bishop  Otey's  address  on  the  proposed  University  — 
in  1857  —  we  read  as  follows: 

"It  is  known  to  the  public  that  during  the  last  year  the  Rt. 
Rev.  Bishop  Polk  of  Louisiana  invited  the  attention  of  his 
brethren  in  the  Episcopal  office  to  the  urgent  need  in  the 
Southern  States  of  a  University  of  high  order,  under  the 
distinct  sanctions  of  the  Christian  faith. 

"  He  urged  that  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  these 
States,  in  virtue  of  the  wealth  and  intelligence  of  her  members, 
owed  a  debt  to  the  country;  that,  however,  the  individual 
dioceses  were  separated,  too  weak  to  establish  such  institu- 
tions, they  could,  by  uniting  their  resources,  accomplish  the  like 
result;  he  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  a  site  could  be  found 
for  such  a  University  of  easy  access  by  railway  from  all  portions 
of  the  Southern  country."  This  narrative  of  the  meeting  at 
Lookout  Mountain  was  published  with  the  full  sanction  of  all 
the  Bishops  —  Bishop  Otey  was  "unanimously  elected  Presi- 
dent" of  that  meeting.  Bishop  Otey  delivered  the  address  — 
but  neither  in  the  Proceedings  of  that  meeting  nor  in  his 
Address  —  is  there  the  slightest  allusion  to  his  earnest  effort, 
1835  to  "unite  the  friends  of  the  Church  in  the  States  of 
Tennessee,  Mississippi  and  Louisiana  for  founding  and  endow- 
ing a  Protestant  Episcopal  College  to  be  situated  near  the 
Southwestern  boundary  of  Tennessee."  Undoubtedly  Bishop 
Otey  did  make  such  an  effort  and  later  on  he  endeavored  to 
build  an  institution  at  Columbia  —  known  as  Ravenscroft 
College.     Twenty-one   years   had   elapsed   between   Bishop 


272  BISHOP  QUINTARD'S  TESTIMONY. 

Otey's  attempt  to  found  a  Church  College  —  and  the  publica- 
tion of  your  father's  letter  to  the  Southern  Bishops  in  which 
he  invited  them  to  a  conference  to  be  held  at  the  approaching 
meeting  of  the  General  Convention  to  be  held  in  Philadelphia 
for  the  consideration  of  his  grand  scheme  —  As  you  are  aware 
the  whole  subject  was  fully  discussed  at  Philadelphia  and  the 
nine  southern  Bishops  set  forth  an  "Address  to  the  members 
and  friends  of  the  Church"  in  Oct.  1856.  The  first  suggestion 
that  your  father  did  not  originate  the  idea  of  the  University 
of  the  South  was  published  by  Bishop  Green  in  an  address 
delivered  before  the  Board  of  Trustees  in  1879,  in  which  occur 
these  words  —  "James  Hervey  Otey,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  the  first 
Bishop  of  Tennessee,  the  first  projector  of  our  University  and  its 
first  Chancellor  was  a  man  of  no  ordinary  mould  and  a  truly 
grand  Bishop"  certainly  Bishop  Otey  never  claimed  to  be  "the 
first  projector"  of  the  University  of  the  South.  Assuredly  he 
did  not  project  it.  I  am  very  sure  that  the  venerable  Bishop  of 
Mississippi  did  not  mean  exactly  what  his  words  imply.  Your 
father  doubtless  was  aware  of  all  that  Bishop  Otey  had  done 
and  was  a  co-worker  with  him  in  all  his  plans  for  promoting 
Christian  education.  But  he  did  not  act  on  Bishop  Otey's 
scheme  or  plans  in  his  grand  undertaking  to  found  the  Univer- 
sity of  the  South.  You  will  find  in  the  newspaper  slips  which  I 
enclose  that  one  writer  gives  Bishop  Green  the  chief  credit  for 
all  the  work  done  here.  He  says  "In  the  mature  years  of  a 
noble  life  Bishop  Green  may  say  'exegi  monumentum'  a  monu- 
ment which  neither  the  'tooth  of  time  nor  the  erasure  of  obli- 
vion '  can  destroy  —  has  planted  a  seed  whose  vine  will  climb 
ever  onward  and  upward  through  the  long  summers  that  we 
shall  not  see  —  has  broken  a  wave  whose  ever  enlarging  circle 
of  influence  will  widen  till  it  embraces  all  the  borders  of  the 
world,  all  the  boundaries  of  time."  That  is  not  bad  for  a 
newspaper  writer  —  But  what  is  the  truth.  The  good  Bishop 
has  been  the  Chancellor  of  this  University  —  i.  e.  President  of 
its  Board  of  Trustees  —  since  the  death  of  Bishop  Elliott  — 
but  his  Diocese  has  never  done  anything.  Last  year  Mississippi 
contributed  $56.35  to  our  Theological  School  —  while  Tennes- 


BISHOP  QUINTARD'S  TESTIMONY.  273 

see  contributed  $500.  Plenty  of  people,  now  that  the  Univer- 
sity is  succeeding  are  ready  to  claim  credit.  The  Revd.  John 
L.  Gay  wrote  me  two  or  three  years  ago  that  he  originated  the 
idea  of  this  University  —  a  letter  comes  from  a  Clergyman  in 
California  enquiring  if  the  late  Dr.  Leacock  did  not  originate  it 
—  and  so  we  go.    When  I  entered  the  House  of  Bishops  in 

1865  my  very  first  act  was  to  write  a  letter  to  the  late  John  A. 
Merrick  —  a  learned  priest,  asking  him  to  come  to  Sewanee 
to  join  me  in  building  up  this  University.    He  did  come.    In 

1866  he  and  the  Rev.  Thos.  A.  Morris  —  Major  Fairbanks  and 
myself  rode  up  the  mountain.  We  found  the  late  Wm.  H. 
Tomlinsen  with  his  family  in  an  old  log  cabin,  the  solitary 
building  left  at  the  close  of  the  war  on  this  domain.  Mr.  Tom- 
linsen entertained  us  as  best  he  could.   The  day  after  our  arrival 

I  caused  a  rude  cross  some  twelve  feet  high  to  be  erected.  We 
all  gathered  round  that  cross  —  recited  the  Nicene  Creed  — 
made  the  woods  ring  with  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis  —  knelt  down 
and  asked  God's  blessing.    That  was  the  beginning  of  Chapter 

II  —  post-bellum.  The  first  building  I  had  erected  was  named 
in  honor  of  Bishop  Otey  —  No  Bishops  cheered  me  on  except 
dear  Bishop  Elliott  who  was  called  to  his  rest  that  very  year  — 
Nay,  most  of  the  Bishops  rather  fought  against,  me.  Why  so 
late  as  1872  —  when  I  was  appointed  Commissioner  to  canvass 
all  the  Southern  Dioceses  —  good  Bishop  Atkinson  wrote  me 
that  he  could  not  consent  to  my  visiting  North  Carolina  with  a 
view  of  canvassing  the  parishes  for  subscriptions  to  the  Uni- 
versity —  After  the  war  he  attended  but  one  meeting  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  —  The  one  Bishop  who  has  stood  by  me 
through  all  my  labors  for  the  University  is  Bishop  Gregg  of 
Texas  —  I  thank  God  on  every  remembrance  of  him  —  Twice 
I  have  gone  over  England  pleading  for  funds  and  but  for  the 
money  contributed  by  English  Churchmen  —  this  University 
would  hardly  have  had  an  existence  to-day.  But  History  will 
vindicate  the  truth — at  least  I  hope  so.  I  do  not  much  care 
what  is  written  by  newspaper  correspondents.  —  The  one 
thing  I  rejoice  in  is  the  fact  that  the  University  is  now  a  fixed 
fact,  and  is  doing  a  grand  work  for  the  country  and  the  Church. 


274         THE  SHADOW  OF  RECONSTRUCTION. 

I  am  delighted  to  know  that  your  book  is  soon  to  appear  — 
Your  father  was  very  dear  to  me  —  I  hardly  know  how  to 
speak  of  him  —  His  was  such  a  grand  character  that  ordinary 
mortals  could  not  appreciate  him.  I  knew  him  intimately, 
particularly  during  his  military  career  —  I  knew  his  high  aims 
—  his  singleness  of  purpose  —  his  lofty  character  —  I  knew 
how  all  through  the  war  his  religious  life  was  kept  pure  and 
undefiled  —  how  constantly  he  gave  himself  to  prayer  —  how  he 
rejoiced,  when  opportunity  offered,  to  attend  the  services  of 
the  Church  —  His  was  a  most  symmetrical  character  —  well 
rounded  and  of  fair  proportions.  He  was  a  very  prince  among 
men.  I  beg  your  pardon  for  such  a  rambling  letter  —  I  hope 
it  will  not  weary  you.  God  bless  you  and  all  you  love.  God 
bless  at  your  altar  and  by  your  hearth-stone. 
Ever  affectionately  yours 

C.  T.  QUINTARD. 

It  seems  a  pity  there  should  have  been  occasion  for 
this  letter,  but  when  one  recalls  the  period  during  which 
the  belated  claim  appeared,  an  explanation  may  be 
found.  It  was  in  the  days  of  "  Reconstruction,"  when 
in  the  estimation  of  some  of  those  responsible  for  the 
University  the  name  of  Polk  carried  too  many  associa- 
tions with  the  Confederacy  to  make  it  an  aggressive 
force  available  just  then.  Faced  by  a  crushing  poverty, 
is  it  to  be  wondered  that  they  turned  to  the  name,  which 
not  only  had  some  power  with  the  forces  about  them 
they  were  trying  to  interest,  but  whose  early  concep- 
tions of  a  college  were  more  in  keeping,  not  only  with 
what  they  had,  but  with  what  they  seemed  ever  likely 
to  possess.  But  after  all  the  men  and  women  who 
fought  for  the  life  of  Sewanee  from  1868  to  1890  are  the 
heroes  of  the  mountain;  they  shaped  it,  they  lifted  it 
up  among  the  high  places  of  the  nation,  and  gave  it  a 
name  that  stands  for  every  ideal  its  founders  dreamed  of. 


REV.  DAVID  PISE  TRIBUTE.  275 

We  can  give  no  better  ending  to  this  chapter  than  the 
letter  we  now  offer  from  a  trustee  of  the  University,  a 
member  of  its  executive  committee,  and  for  many  years 
one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  clergy  of  Tennessee; 
moreover,  no  one  knew  better  than  he  how  utterly  for- 
eign to  these  men  were  questions  of  precedence  in  this 
the  work  of  their  combined  hearts. 


Columbia,  Tenn.,  Feby.  5th,  1867. 
Mrs.  Polk 

My  dear  Madam:    I  am  very  grateful  for  the  privilege,  so 
kindly  extended,  of  selecting  from  Bishop  Polk's  Library,  what 
will  serve  as  a  memento  of  that  great  and  good  man,  whom 
living  I  loved  and  honored,  and  whose  memory  I  venerate. 
What  a  trio!  Otey,  Polk,  Elliott! 
Venerabilia  Nomina! 

They  were  the  three  grandest  men  —  physicially,  intellectu- 
ally, morally  —  that  I  ever  saw  together. 

In  the  center  of  the  group  stands  the  originator  of  the  most 
magnificent  educational  enterprise  of  the  age;  on  either  hand 
are  his  noble  compeers  in  that  grand  scheme. 

But  they  are  all  gone  to  Rest;  each  in  the  order  of  his 
Episcopate  and  with  them  is  buried,  I  fear,  the  last  hope  of  the 
University  of  the  South. 

It  is  an  inestimable  privilege,  to  have  enjoyed,  during  their 
lives,  in  any  measure,  the  confidence  and  friendship  of  such  men. 
It  is  sorrowful  pleasure  to  cherish,  with  filial  affection,  their 
memory. 

With  sentiments  of  the  most  respectful  consideration, 
I  remain,  dear  Madam, 
Very  truly  yours, 

David  Pise. 


APPENDIX  TO   CHAPTER  VI 

CONSTITUTION  OF 
THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  THE  SOUTH. 


Article  I. 

This  University  shall  be  called  The  University  op  the 
South,  and  shall  be  in  all  its  parts  under  the  sole  and  perpet- 
ual direction  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  represented 
by  a  Board  of  Trustees. 

Article  II. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  shall  be  composed  of  the  bishops  of 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Texas,  Tennessee,  and  the  bishop  ex- 
ercising" jurisdiction  in  Arkansas,  ex  officio,  and  of  one  clergy- 
man and  two  laymen  from  each  of  said  dioceses,  to  be  elected 
by  the  convention  of  the  same :  who  shall  hold  their  offices 
for  the  term  of  three  years  from  the  date  of  their  election,  or 
until  their  successors  shall  have  been  appointed.  If  there 
should  be  an  assistant  bishop  in  any  of  these  dioceses,  the 
diocese  in  which  there  is  an  assistant  bishop  may  be  repre- 
sented by  either  its  bishop  or  its  assistant  bishop,  but  never 
both  at  the  same  time. 

Nine  of  their  number  shall  constitute  a  quorum  for  the 
transaction  of  business,  provided  each  class  of  trustees — to 
wit,  bishops,  clergy,  and  laity  —  shall  be  represented  by  not 
less  than  two  of  their  number.  A  vote  by  orders  maybe  de- 
manded, and  then  the  joint  consent  of  the  bishops  as  one 

276 


APPENDIX  TO   CHAPTER    VI.  277 

order,  and  of  the  clerical  and  lay  trustees  as  another  order, 
shall  be  necessary  for  the  adoption  of  any  measure  proposed. 
Vacancies  occurring  in  the  order  of  clerical  and  lay  trustees 
shall  be  filled  in  such  manner  as  shall  be  provided  by  the 
conventions  of  the  respective  dioceses. 

Article  III. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  shall  have  the  power  from  time  to 
time  to  appoint,  and  for  cause  to  remove,  the  Vice-Chancel- 
lor, the  Professors,  Assistant  Professors,  Lecturers,  Fellows, 
and  all  officers,  agents,  and  servants  of  the  University,  and 
shall  have  the  entire  management  and  supervision  of  the 
affairs,  concerns,  and  property  of  the  University. 

The  Board  shall  have  power  from  time  to  time  to  make  any 
statutes  and  regulations,  not  inconsistent  with  the  Constitu- 
tion or  the  laws  of  the  land,  or  to  alter  or  repeal  the  same, 
touching  the  government  of  the  University,  the  appointment 
and  removal,  number  and  rank,  powers  and  duties,  stipends 
and  emoluments,  of  the  several  persons  employed  therein,  the 
terms  and  conditions  upon  which  students  shall  be  admitted, 
the  course  of  instruction,  the  police  and  government,  times  of 
meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  and  other  boards  which 
may  be  hereafter  provided  for  by  statute. 

The  Board  may  erect  all  necessary  buildings,  and  in  general 
shall  have  power  touching  all  other  matters  whatsoever  re- 
garding the  University  and  the  interests  thereof.  And  all 
statutes  and  regulations,  when  reduced  to  writing  and  made 
public,  in  such  manner  as  shall  be  provided  by  statute,  shall 
be  binding  upon  all  persons  members  of  the  University  or 
anywise  subject  to  its  government. 

The  University  shall  have  a  common  seal,  and  the  Board  of 
Trustees  shall  have  power  to  use  the  same  for  the  affairs  and 
concerns  thereof,  and  to  direct  and  manage  such  affairs  and 
concerns,  and  to  receive,  issue,  invest,  lay  out,  and  dispose  of 
all  stocks,  effects,  funds,  moneys,  and  securities,  and  to  con- 
tract for  and  purchase  messuages,  lands,  tenements,  and  her- 
editaments, and  goods  and  chattels,  for  the  use  of  the  Univer- 
sity, and  to  sell,  demise,  alien,  lease,  or  otherwise  dispose  of 


278  APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER   VI. 

any  property  whatsoever,  real  or  personal,  belonging  thereto, 
in  any  manner  not  repugnant  to  the  provisions  of  this  Con- 
stitution. 

The  Chancellor  for  the  time  being,  or  in  case  of  his  absence 
the  bishop  next  in  order  of  consecration,  shall  be  President 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

All  questions  shall  be  decided  by  the  majority  of  members 
present,  except  when  a  vote  by  orders  shall  be  called  for. 

The  Board  shall  have  full  power  to  establish  literary  and 
scientific  departments,  and  those  of  theology,  law,  and  medi- 
cal science,  and  such  other  departments  as  they  may  see 
proper,  and  to  confer  upon  students,  or  any  other  person,  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  Master  of  Arts,  or  any  degree 
known  and  used  in  any  college  or  university.  They  shall 
have  power  also  to  appoint  persons  to  fellowships,  according 
to  such  regulations  as  they  may  prescribe. 

Article  IV. 

The  Senior  Bishop  (by  consecration)  of  the  dioceses  afore- 
said shall  be  the  Chancellor  of  the  University.  He  shall  not 
be  required  to  reside  at  the  University. 

Article  V. 

There  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Trustees  a  Vice- 
Chancellor,  who  shall  be  the  administrative  head  of  the 
University.  He  shall  preside  over  all  meetings  of  the  Heb- 
domadal Board,  and  perform  such  other  duties  as  may  be 
prescribed  by  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  shall  hold  his  office 
during  good  behavior,  and  shall  be  required  to  reside  at  the 
University. 

Article  VI. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  shall  appoint  a  Secretary,  to  hold 
his  office  for  the  term  of  three  years,  or  until  his  successor 
shall  be  appointed. 

Article  VII. 

There  shall  be  a  Treasurer  of  the  University,  who  shall 
be  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  shall  hold  his 


APPENDIX  TO   CHAPTER    VI.  279 

office  for  the  term  of  three  years,  and  continue  in  office 
until  his  successor  is  appointed  and  shall  have  given  bond. 
Such  Treasurer  shall  receive  the  interest  money  derived 
from  the  securities  held  by  the  Diocesan  Treasurers,  and 
all  moneys  paid  in  for  tuition,  fees,  lectures,  tickets,  fines, 
etc.,  and  any  funds  which  may  inure  to  the  University  other- 
wise, and  expend  the  same  under  the  direction  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees.  He  shall  perform  such  other  duties  as  may  be 
required  of  him  by  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  receive  such 
compensation  for  his  services  as  they  may  prescribe.  He 
shall  give  such  bond  and  security  as  may  be  required  by 
the  Board.  He  shall  report  annually  to  the  Chairman  of 
the  Finance  Committee  the  state  of  the  finances  and  prop- 
erty of  the  University,  and  shall  be  required  to  reside  at  the 
University.  He  shall  keep  the  funds  of  the  University  and 
all  other  funds  deposited  with  him,  under  such  regulations 
as  shall  be  made  by  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

Article  VIII. 

There  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Trustees  an 
Auditor,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  examine  and  audit  all 
accounts  connected  with  the  business  of  the  University,  and 
perform  such  other  duties  as  may  be  prescribed  by  the  Board. 
He  shall  reside  at  the  University,  and  hold  his  office  for  the 
term  of  three  years,  and  receive  such  compensation  as  the 
Board  of  Trustees  shall  prescribe. 

Article  IX. 

There  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Trustees  a  Comp- 
troller, whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  examine  the  accounts  of 
the  Treasurer,  to  make  a  final  adjustment  of  all  accounts 
connected  with  the  business  of  the  University,  and  perform 
such  other  duties  as  shall  be  devolved  upon  him  by  the 
Board  of  Trustees.  He  shall  receive  such  compensation  as 
they  shall  prescribe,  shall  be  required  to  reside  at  the 
University,  and  shall  hold  his  office  for  the  term  of  three 
years. 


280  APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER   VI. 

Article  X. 

There  shall  be  elected  a  Committee  on  Finance,  to  serve 
for  three  years,  composed  of  one  clerical  and  two  lay  trus- 
tees, who  shall  prepare  from  the  reports  submitted  by  the 
General  and  Diocesan  Treasurers,  and  report  to  the  Board 
of  Trustees  at  their  annual  meetings,  a  full  statement  of 
the  University  funds,  its  outstanding  obligations,  and  the 
amounts  required  to  carry  on  its  operations  for  the  coming 
year :  and  to  enable  such  Committee  to  be  prepared  to  sub- 
mit their  report  at  the  opening  of  such  annual  meeting  of 
the  Board,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  General  Treasurer  and 
of  the  Diocesan  Treasurers  to  prepare  and  bring  forward 
their  reports  to  the  Chairman  of  said  Finance  Committee  at 
University  Place,  at  least  ten  days  before  the  annual  meeting. 

Article  XI. 

There  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Trustees  a  Com- 
missioner of  Buildings  and  Lands,  who  shall  have  the  general 
superintendence  of  the  buildings  and  lands,  and  shall  be  un- 
der the  supervision  of  the  Vice-Chancellor,  and  perform  such 
duties  as  shall  be  prescribed  by  the  Board  of  Trustees.  He 
shall  hold  his  office  for  the  term  of  three  years,  shall  receive 
such  compensation  as  the  Board  of  Trustees  shall  prescribe, 
and  shall  have  his  residence  at  the  University. 

Article  XII. 

There  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Trustees  a  Reg- 
istrar of  the  University,  who  shall  be  the  Secretary  of  the 
Hebdomadal  Board,  and  perform  such  other  duties  as  may  be 
required  of  him  by  the  Board  of  Trustees.  He  shall  hold  his 
office  for  the  term  of  three  years,  shall  reside  at  the  Univer- 
sity, and  shall  receive  such  compensation  as  may  be  prescribed 
by  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

Article  XIII. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  shall  have  power  to  appoint,  from 
time  to  time,  such  officers,  for  the  discipline  of  the  students, 


APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER    VI.  281 

for  municipal  government,  and  for  the  regulation  of  all  per- 
sons residing  upon  the  domain  of  the  University,  as  they  may 
think  necessary. 

Article  XIV. 

Meetings  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  shall  be  held  annually, 
at  such  time  as  they  may  appoint  by  statute.  Extraordinary 
meetings  may  be  held  upon  the  call  of  any  five  members  of 
the  Board,  or  upon  the  request  of  the  Hebdomadal  Board  j 
such  meetings  to  be  called  by  the  Chancellor.  The  Board  may, 
by  statute,  provide  for  the  payment  of  necessary  expenses 
incurred  by  the  Trustees  in  attendance  upon  such  meetings. 

Article  XV. 

The  funds  subscribed  to  the  University  shall  all  be  consid- 
ered as  capital,  to  be  preserved  untouched  for  any  purpose 
connected  with  the  organization  or  management  of  the  Univer- 
sity )  provided,  that  donations  and  legacies  may  be  received 
for  such  objects  as  the  donors  may  indicate  j  and  provided, 
moreover,  that  it  be  distinctly  understood  that  the  funds  sub- 
scribed in  any  diocese  are  the  property  of  the  University, 
and  not  of  the  diocese,  and  that  the  conventions  of  the  vari- 
ous dioceses  shall  have  no  control  of  the  same. 

The  amount  subscribed  in  any  diocese  as  capital  shall,  in 
the  event  of  the  dissolution  of  the  corporation,  be  returned  to 
the  donors  or  their  legal  representatives ;  and  in  case  of  there 
being  no  legal  representatives,  then  it  shall  revert  to  the 
diocese  in  which  it  was  subscribed.  If  the  capital  subscribed 
in  any  diocese  shall  be  diminished  by  a  failure  of  securities, 
or  otherwise,  the  remaining  capital  in  such  diocese  shall  then 
be  distributed,  pro  rata,  among  the  donors  or  their  represen- 
tatives. 

No  diocese  shall  be  bound  to  furnish  any  particular  sum  of 
money,  but  the  contributions  made  therein  shall  be  voluntary, 
according  to  the  pleasure  and  ability  of  the  contributors. 

Article  XVI. 

There  shall  be  a  Treasurer  of  University  Funds  appointed 
in  each  diocese  by  the  convention  of  the  same,  who,  when 


282  APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER    VI. 

confirmed  by  the  Board  of  Trustees,  shall  hold  his  office  for 
three  years  from  the  time  of  his  election,  and  continue  in  office 
until  his  successor  shall  have  been  elected  and  given  bond. 
Such  Treasurer  shall  give  bond  and  security  to  the  University 
of  the  South  in  such  sum  as  shall  be  required  by  the'  Board 
of  Trustees  from  time  to  time.  Such  Treasurer  shall  receive 
the  cash,  notes,  bonds,  stocks,  titles  to  lands  or  other  property 
obtained  as  subscription  in  that  diocese ;  and  it  shall  be  his 
duty,  in  conjunction  with  the  lay  trustees  of  the  diocese,  to 
invest  the  cash,  and  all  moneys  which  shall  be  derived  from 
the  realization  of  the  above-mentioned  private  securities,  in 
the  best  public  securities  or  other  safe  investments,  paying 
over  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  University  the  interest  of  the 
amount  subscribed,  in  such  manner  as  shall  be  prescribed  by 
the  Board  of  Trustees;  and  his  accounts  shall  be  rendered  to 
the  Board  of  Trustees  at  their  annual  session.  The  Board  of 
Trustees  shall  prescribe  rules  and  regulations  for  the  man- 
agement, safe  keeping,  and  transmission  of  the  funds  in  the 
hands  of  the  Diocesan  Treasurers,  and  shall  fix  their  compen- 
sation. 

In  case  of  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of  Treasurer,  either  of 
the  University  or  of  a  Diocese,  the  Board  of  Trustees  shall 
be  authorized  to  provide,  by  statute,  a  mode  of  fining  such 
vacancy  until  a  regular  election. 

Article  XVII. 

In  case  of  subdivision  of  any  of  the  existing  dioceses  con- 
nected with  the  University,  each  diocese  arising  out  of  such 
subdivision  shall  be  entitled  to  the  same  number  of  trustees 
as  the  respective  dioceses  are  now  entitled  to,  and  be  subject 
to  the  same  provisions  and  regulations. 

Article  XVIII. 

It  shall  be  competent  for  the  Board  of  Trustees  to  admit 
other  dioceses  into  connection  with  the  University  of  the 
South ;  provided  that  each  diocese  shall  be  subject  to  such 
conditions  as  may  be  required  by  this  Board  at  the  time  of 


APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER   VI.  283 

their  admission  j  and  in  case  of  the  reception  into  this  Board 
of  any  such  diocese,  it  shall  be  entitled  to  the  same  number 
of  trustees  as  the  respective  dioceses  are  now  entitled  to, 
and  be  subject  to  the  same  rules  and  regulations. 

Article  XIX. 

No  amendment  shall  be  made  to  this  Constitution  unless 
it  shall  have  been  passed  at  two  successive  meetings,  by  a 
majority  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  j  provided  that  majority 
be  a  quorum. 


STATUTES  OF 
THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  THE  SOUTH. 


I.    CHANCELLOR. 

The  Senior  Bishop  (by  consecration)  of  the  dioceses  unit- 
ing for  the  foundation  of  the  University,  shall  always  fill  the 
office  of  Chancellor.  He  shall  not  be  required  to  reside  at 
the  University. 

II.     VICE-CHANCELLOR. 

Section  1.  The  Vice-Chancellor  shall  be  elected  by  the 
Board  of  Trustees.  He  shall  be  the  resident  head  of  the 
University.  He  shall  have  control  over  all  its  departments, 
and  shall  be  exclusively  an  administrative  officer.  He  shall 
be  furnished  with  a  house,  and  be  paid  a  salary  of  $6000  per 
annum,  and  shall  hold  his  office  daring  good  behavior. 

Sec.  2.  In  the  government  of  the  University  he  shall  be 
assisted  by  a  Hebdomadal  Board,  to  be  composed  of  such 
Professors  as  shall  be  hereafter  named. 

Sec.  3.  He  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  granting  leave  of 
absence  to  Professors,  Fellows,  other  officers,  and  students 
of  the  University.  He  shall  have  power  at  all  times  to  visit 
any  hall,  lecture-room,  office,  student's  room,  or  public  apart- 
ment of  the  University. 


284  APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER    VI. 

Sec.  4.  Whenever  it  shall  come  to  his  knowledge  that  any 
Professor  has  been  negligent  of  his  duties,  or  has  shown  a 
want  of  zeal  in  imparting  instruction  to  his  school,  or  in 
promoting  the  interests  of  the  University,  he  shall  advise 
and  remonstrate  with  such  Professor  of  the  University. 
And  should  any  such  Professor,  or  other  officer  of  the  Uni- 
versity, be  inattentive  to  the  advice  or  remonstrance  of  the 
Vice- Chancellor,  the  Vice-Chancellor  shall,  after  giving  such 
Professor  or  other  officer  notice  of  his  intention,  and  fur- 
nishing him  with  a  copy  of  the  official  statement  he  proposes 
to  make  of  the  case,  call  the  attention  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees to  the  conduct  of  such  Professor  or  officer. 

Sec.  5.  The  Vice-Chancellor  shall  have  power  to  license 
boarding-houses  for  the  students,  and  to  exercise  a  full  su- 
pervision of  them  through  the  Proctors,  for  the  purpose  of 
ascertaining  whether  the  regulations  made  for  their  order 
and  discipline  have  been  complied  with. 

Sec.  6.  The  Vice-Chancellor  shall  cause  to  be  prepared  by 
the  Registrar  monthly  reports  of  the  conduct  and  scholarship 
of  every  student,  which  he  shall  transmit  to  the  parents  or 
guardians  of  such  students. 

Sec.  7.  It  shall  be  his  duty  to  make  a  report  to  the  Board 
of  Trustees,  at  their  annual  session,  on  the  general  condition 
of  the  University  during  the  past  year,  and  to  suggest  for 
their  consideration  such  alterations  and  improvements  on 
any  subject  as  shall  have  been  approved  by  the  Hebdomadal 
Board.  He  shall  also  present  for  the  examination  of  the 
Board,  at  its  annual  session,  a  digest  of  the  weekly  reports  of 
the  Professors  of  the  conduct  and  scholarship  of  the  students 
of  their  respective  schools,  and  shall  supervise  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  annual  calendar. 

Sec.  8.  The  Vice-Chancellor,  in  case  of  absence  or  of  in- 
capacity from  illness  or  any  other  temporary  cause  to  dis- 
charge his  duties,  shall  have  the  power  of  appointing  as  his 
substitute  any  one  of  the  Professors.  But  should  he  fail  to 
appoint  a  substitute,  or  resign,  or  die,  then  the  office  shall  be 
filled  by  the  Hebdomadal  Board,  from  among  the  heads  of 
schools  j  and  such  person,  so  appointed,  shall  exercise  the  func- 


APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER    VI.  285 

tions  of  the  office  until  the  removal  of  the  disability,  or  until 
the  Board  of  Trustees  shall  have  appointed  a  successor,  and 
he  shall  have  signified  his  acceptance  and  entered  on  the 
duties  of  his  office. 

III.    PROFESSORS. 

Section  1.  The  plan  of  education  in  the  University  shall  be 
by  separate  schools  for  each  branch  of  knowledge.  Each 
school  shall  be  complete  in  itself,  independent  of  all  others, 
and  devoted  to  imparting  instruction  in  everything  belonging 
to  its  department. 

Sec.  2.  At  the  head  of  each  school,  excepting  those  of  the- 
ology, law,  and  medicine,  there  shall  be  a  Professor,  to  be 
elected  by  the  Board  of  Trustees.  It  shall  be  his  duty  to 
regulate  the  studies  of  his  school,  for  the  character  and  suc- 
cess of  which  he  shall  be  held  especially  responsible ;  he  shall 
engage  personally  in  instruction,  by  lectures,  lessons,  and 
written  exercises,  as  he  may  deem  best.  Frequent  interroga- 
tion of  a  searching  character  shall  be,  however,  absolutely 
required. 

Sec.  3.  Each  school  shall  be  divided  into  sections  of  as 
many  students  as  may  be  conveniently  or  efficiently  instructed, 
and  no  more.  The  classing  of  students  into  sections  shall  be 
regulated  by  their  attainments,  to  be  determined  by  examina- 
tion on  their  application  for  admission.  But  they  may  be 
transferred  from  section  to  section,  up  or  down,  according  to 
the  degree  of  proficiency  they  shall  from  time  to  time  exhibit. 

Sec.  4.  In  the  instruction  of  these  sections  the  Professor 
shall  be  aided  by  as  many  Assistant  Professors  as  may  be 
necessary,  who  shall  be  under  his  direction  and  control,  and 
shall  aid  him  in  the  instruction  and  government  of  the  students 
of  his  school,  while  in  their  sections  or  lecture -rooms. 

Sec.  5.  Each  Professor  shall  be  provided  with  a  house,  and 
paid  an  annual  salary  of  $3000,  by  the  University.  This 
amount  may  be  increased  by  each  Professor  from  his  school 
tickets,  to  a  sum  not  exceeding  $5000  annually.  His  tenure 
of  office  shall  be  for  five  years,  but  he  may  be  reelected  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 


286  APPENDIX  TO   CHAPTER    VI. 

Sec.  6.  The  Assistant  Professors  shall  be  appointed  by  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  upon  a  certificate  of  the  Examiners  of  the 
University  that  they  have  been  rigidly  examined  and  are 
competent  for  their  office.  They  shall  receive  such  lodging 
and  salaries  as  the  Board  of  Trustees  shall  provide,  shall  be 
appointed  for  the  term  of  five  years,  and  shall  be  reeligible, 
but  not  without  the  recommendation  of  the  Vice -Chancellor 
and  the  heads  of  their  respective  schools.  The  Assistant 
Professors  may  be  removed  by  the  Vice-Chancellor,  upon  the 
representation  of  the  Professors  of  their  schools,  for  cause 
shown.  The  reasons  of  such  removal  shall  be  reported  to  the 
Board  of  Trustees  at  their  annual  meeting  next  ensuing. 

Sec.  7.  Each  Professor  and  Assistant  Professor  shall  keep 
a  daily  record  of  the  value  of  each  recitation  of  every  mem- 
ber of  his  section,  according  to  a  scale  to  be  determined  by 
the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  shall  note  all  cases  of  absence  or 
of  misconduct  in  section.  These  records  shall  be  handed 
weekly  to  the  Vice-Chancellor,  who  shall  have  them  digested, 
and  cause  the  names  of  the  five  most  distinguished  students 
in  each  section  of  every  school  to  be  published  on  a  bulletin- 
board,  to  be  fixed  in  some  conspicuous  place  in  the  University. 

Sec.  8.  All  transfers  of  students  from  section  to  section 
shall  be  made  by  the  Professors  (aided  by  their  Assistant 
Professors),  who  shall  be  responsible  for  determining  the 
relative  numerical  rank  of  the  students  of  their  schools  in 
the  annual  calendar.  All  lectures  by  the  Professors,  es- 
pecially those  requiring  experimental  illustration,  shall,  in 
general,  be  common  to  the  several  sections  of  the  respective 
schools. 

IV.    EXAMINERS. 

Section  1.  There  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Hebdomadal 
Board,  Committees  of  Examiners,  who  shall  conduct  the  ex- 
aminations of  all  applicants  for  admission  to  the  University ; 
also  of  all  the  school  at  the  annual  or  other  public  examina- 
tions; of  the  candidates  for  the  degrees  of  the  University, 
and  its  Fellowships ;  and  also  all  applicants  for  the  office  of 
Assistant  Professor. 


APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER    VI.  287 

Sec.  2.  All  Professors,  whether  heads  of  schools  or  Assist- 
ants, shall  serve  as  Examiners  whenever  appointed  by  the 
Hebdomadal  Board. 

V.    LECTURERS. 

Besides  the  Professors  and  Assistant  Professors  of  the  sev- 
eral schools,  there  shall  be  chosen  by  the  Board  of  Trustees, 
Lecturers,  who  shall  be  invited  to  lecture  before  the  Univer- 
sity upon  special  topics  in  any  particular  school.  These 
Lecturers  shall  have  no  part  in  the  government  of  the  Uni- 
versity, and  shall  not  be  required  to  be  resident,  but  shall 
repair  to  the  University,  at  certain  seasons,  and  lecture  for 
a  limited  period.  Their  compensation  shall  be  regulated  by 
the  Board  of  Trustees. 

VI.    SCHOOLS. 

The  following  shall  be  the  schools  founded  by  the  Univer- 
sity, so  soon  as  the  means  at  its  command  shall  be  sufficient 
for  that  purpose.  The  grouping  of  the  topics  shall  be  varied 
at  the  pleasure  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

The  number  of  schools  shall  be  increased  as  expediency 
and  the  progress  of  letters,  science,  and  art  shall  suggest. 

1.  School  of  Greek  Language  and  Literature. 

2.  School  of  Latin  Language  and  Literature. 

3.  School  of  Mathematics. 

4.  School  of  Physics. 

5.  School  of  Metaphysics. 

6.  School  of  History  and  Archaeology. 

7.  School  of  Natural  Sciences,  with  cabinets  and  garden 
of  plants  attached. 

8.  School  of  Geology,  Mineralogy,  and  Paleontology. 

9.  School  of  Civil  Engineering,  Construction,  Architecture, 
and  Drawing. 

10.  School  of  Theoretical  and  Experimental  Chemistry. 

11.  School  of  Chemistry  applied  to  Agriculture  and  the 
Arts. 

12.  School  of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Agriculture,  with 
farm  attached. 


288  APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER    VI. 

13.  School  of  Moral  Science  and  the  Evidences  of  the 
Christian  Religion. 

14.  School  of  English  Language  and  Literature. 

15.  School  of  French  Language  and  Literature. 

16.  School  of  German  Language  and  Literature. 

17.  School  of  Spanish  Language  and  Literature. 

18.  School  of  Italian  Language  and  Literature. 

19.  School  of  Oriental  Language  and  Literature. 

20.  School  of  the  Philosophy  of  Language. 

21.  School  of  the  Philosophy  of  Education. 

22.  School  of  Rhetoric,  Criticism,  Elocution,  and  Composi- 
tion. 

23.  School  of  American  History  and  Antiquities. 

24.  School  of  Ethnology  and  Universal  Geography. 

25.  School  of  Astronomy  (with  observatory)  and  Physical 
Geography. 

26.  School  of  Political  Science,  Political  Economy,  Statis- 
tics, Law  of  Nations,  Spirit  of  Laws,  General  Principles  of 
Government,  and  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

27.  School  of  Commerce  and  Trade,  including  the  History 
and  Laws  of  Banking,  Exchange,  Insurance,  Brokerage,  and 
Book-keeping. 

28.  School  of  Theology. 

29.  School  of  Law. 

30.  School  of  Medicine. 

31.  School  of  Mines  and  Mining. 

32.  School  of  Fine  Arts,  including  Sacred  Music. 

The  organization  of  the  Schools  of  Theology,  Law,  Medi- 
cine, and  of  Practical  Agriculture,  shall  be  determined  by 
the  Board  of  Trustees  at  the  time  of  their  establishment. 

VII.    HEBDOMADAL  BOARD. 

Section  1.  There  shall  be  a  Board  to  be  called  the  Heb- 
domadal Board,  whose  office  shall  be  to  act  as  a  council  of 
advice  to  the  Vice-Chancellor  in  the  government  of  the  Uni- 
versity, and  of  which  the  Vice- Chancellor  shall  be  President. 

Sec.  2.  This  Board  shall  be  composed  of  not  more  than 
twelve  members. 


APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER    VI.  289 

Sec.  3.  So  long  as  the  Professors  of  the  University  shall  not 
exceed  twelve  in  number,  they  shall  all  be  members  of  the 
Hebdomadal  Board.  When  such  number  shall  exceed  twelve, 
then  the  Board  of  Trustees  shall  fill  vacancies  by  election 
from  among  said  Professors. 

Sec.  4.  By  this  Board  all  questions  of  discipline  in  the 
University  shall  be  adjudged  according  to  the  laws  and  ordi- 
nances of  the  University. 

Sec.  5.  It  shall  have  the  power  to  appoint  examiners  of  the 
Assistant  Professors  and  students  of  any  or  all  the  schools. 

Sec.  6.  It  shall  meet  weekly,  but  may  be  called  together  at 
any  time  by  the  Vice- Chancellor,  when  he  shall  think  it  neces- 
sary. This  board  shall  have  power  to  originate  and  discuss  any 
proposition  necessary  for  the  good  government,  academical 
proficiency,  repute,  and  common  weal  of  the  University,  which 
it  may  think  expedient  to  lay  before  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

Sec.  7.  When  engaged  in  the  discussion  of  such  proposi- 
tions, the  heads  of  all  the  schools  shall  be  summoned  to  at- 
tend, and  shall  be  entitled  to  engage  in  the  discussion,  and 
to  vote  upon  the  adoption  and  rejection  of  such  propositions. 
A  majority  of  those  entitled  to  vote  shall  be  necessary  for  the 
adoption  of  any  proposition,  and  in  case  of  a  tie  the  Vice- 
Chancellor  shall  have  the  casting  vote. 

VIII.    MATRICULATION. 

Section  1.  No  student  shall  matriculate  at  the  University 
until  he  shall  have  attained  such  age  as  may  hereafter  be 
prescribed  by  statute ;  nor  unless  he  shall  agree  to  enter  at 
least  three  schools  of  the  University,  one  of  which  shall  in 
all  cases  be  the  School  of  Moral  Science  and  the  Evidences 
of  the  Christian  Religion.  But  for  special  cause  shown,  the 
Vice-Chancellor  may  permit  the  student  to  take  one  school 
only  beside  that  of  Moral  Science.  A  student  may  matricu- 
late at  any  period  of  the  year,  upon  examination  in  the  school 
which  he  proposes  to  enter,  and  shall  take  his  place  in  such 
section  of  the  school  as  his  proficiency  shall  indicate. 

Sec.  2.  Every  student,  when  he  matriculates,  shall  be  fur- 
nished with  a  copy  of  the  statutes,  and  shall  signify  his  inten- 


290  APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER    VI. 

tion  to  conform  to  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  University, 
and  his  desire  to  avail  himself  of  the  advantages  thereof,  by 
subscribing  the  form  following : 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  admitted  members  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  the  South,  do  hereby  acknowledge  ourselves  subject 
to  its  authority  and  discipline,  and  declare  our  earnest  desire 
faithfully  to  avail  ourselves  of  its  advantages." 

He  shall  also  sign  his  name  in  a  book,  to  be  kept  for  the 
purpose  by  the  Proctor,  in  which  shall  be  recorded  the  name 
and  residence  of  his  parent  or  guardian,  and  shall  pay  to  the 
Proctor  a  matriculation  fee  of  $10. 

IX.    HONORS  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY. 

Section  1.  A  Calendar  of  the  University  shall  be  published 
at  the  end  of  each  academical  year,  which  shall  designate  the 
rank  of  every  student  in  each  of  his  schools.  Said  rank  shall 
be  compounded  of  general  good  conduct,  scholarship,  and 
examinations.  A  copy  of  this  Calendar  shall  be  sent  by  mail 
to  the  parent  or  guardian  of  every  student  of  the  University. 
A  star,  as  a  mark  of  distinguished  merit,  shall  be  prefixed  to 
the  names  of  the  first  five  in  each  of  the  schools  of  the 
University. 

Sec.  2.  A  diploma  of  graduation  in  any  school  may  be  given 
at  the  end  of  each  term  to  each  student  who  shall  have 
attained  a  certain  standard,  to  be  determined  by  examiners 
appointed  by  the  Hebdomadal  Board ;  but  no  diploma  shall 
in  any  case  be  conferred  until  the  candidate  shall  have  passed 
such  examination  in  the  English  Language  as  may  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  Hebdomadal  Board. 

Sec.  3.  The  degree  of  A.B.  may  be  conferred  on  such  in- 
dividuals as  shall  have  passed  the  examination  necessary  for 
graduation  in  the  schools  following  : 

I.  Moral  Science  and  Evidences  of  Christianity. 
II.  Greek  Language  and  Literature. 

III.  Latin  Language  and  Literature. 

IV.  Mathematics. 
V.  Physics. 

VI.  English  Language  and  Literature. 


APPENDIX  TO   CHAPTEB    VI.  291 

Sec.  4.  The  degree  of  A.M.  may  be  conferred  on  snch  in- 
dividuals as  shall  have  passed  the  requisite  examination  for 
graduation  in  the  schools  above  mentioned,  together  with  the 
following : 

I.   Metaphysics. 
II.  Theoretical  and  Experimental  Chemistry. 

III.  Political  Science. 

IV.  Rhetoric,  Criticism,  Elocution,  and  Composition. 
V.  French  Language  and  Literature. 

VI.  The  German,  Spanish,  or  Italian  Language  and  Litera- 
ture, as  the  student  may  elect. 

Moreover,  he  must  be  able  to  speak  the  French  Language 
with  accuracy. 

Sec.  5.  Fellowships  in  the  University  may  be  conferred  by 
the  Board  of  Trustees  on  such  Masters  of  Arts  as  have  ex- 
celled in  any  one  of  the  following  schools,  to  wit :  of  Greek 
Language  and  Literature,  English  Language  and  Literature, 
Physics,  Mathematics,  Metaphysics,  Chemistry,  or  Natural 
Sciences. 

Three  Fellows  may  be  elected  every  year,  each  of  whom 
shall  have  the  use  of  a  suite  of  rooms  free  of  rent,  and  $500 
per  annum.  The  tenure  of  a  Fellowship  shall  be  for  five 
years.  If  a  Fellow  be  elected  to  a  Professorship  or  Assistant 
Professorship,  he  shall  vacate  his  Fellowship.  Every  Fellow 
shall  reside  in  the  University,  and  may  take  pupils  for  private 
instruction,  they  being  matriculants  of  the  University,  and 
receive  fees  for  such  tuition  at  a  rate  to  be  fixed  by  the  Vice- 
Chancellor  and  the  Hebdomadal  Board. 

Sec.  6.  The  degrees  appropriate  to  the  Professional  Schools 
of  Theology,  Law,  and  Medicine,  shall  be  conferred  for  attain- 
ments and  distinctions,  to  be  determined  by  the  Professors  of 
these  schools  severally. 

Sec.  7.  The  degrees  of  A.B.  and  A.M.  shall  be  awarded 
by  the  Hebdomadal  Board,  when  approved  by  the  Board  of 
Trustees.  All  honorary  degrees  shall  be  conferred  by  the 
Board  of  Trustees  alone. 


292  APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER    VI. 


X.    CHAPLAIN. 

Section  1.  There  shall  be  a  Chaplain  to  the  University, 
appointed  by  the  Board  of  Trustees,  who  shall  fix  his  salary, 
and  he  shall  hold  his  office  during  the  pleasure  of  the  Board. 
He  shall  read,  every  day,  the  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer 
of  the  Church  in  the  chapel  of  the  University,  shall  hold 
the  usual  public  services  on  Sunday,  and  shall  have  a  gen- 
eral pastoral  oversight  of  the  officers  and  students  of  the 
University. 

Sec.  2.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Assistant  Professors,  Fel- 
lows, and  Students  to  attend  morning  and  evening  prayers ; 
and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  students  and  all  the  officers  to 
attend  the  morning  services  on  Sunday,  and  upon  the  greatei 
festivals  of  the  Church. 

XI.    LIBRARIAN. 

There  shall  be  a  Librarian  appointed  by  the  Board  of 
Trustees  who  shall  hold  his  office  for  the  term  of  five  years, 
and  who  shall  be  paid  such  salary  and  perform  such  duties 
as  the  Board  of  Trustees  shall  prescribe. 

XII.    CURATORS  OF  CABINETS. 

The  Curators  of  Cabinets,  the  Museum,  etc.,  shall  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  Vice- Chancellor. 

XIII.    PROCTOR. 

Section  1.  The  general  duties  of  police  shall  be  performed 
by  a  Proctor,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Trustees.  He 
shall  be  aided  by  as  many  assistants  as  may  be  necessary, 
who  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Vice-Chan  cellor. 

Sec.  2.  It  shall  be  the  especial  duty  of  the  Proctor  to  exer- 
cise a  constant  and  careful  surveillance  over  the  conduct  of 
the  students,  and  to  report  to  the  Vice-Chancellor  all  cases 
of  infraction  by  them  of  the  regulations  of  the  University. 

Sec.  3.  It  shall  also  be  his  duty  to  visit,  at  least  once  a 


APPENDIX  TO   GHAPTEB    VI.  293 

week,  all  boarding-houses  licensed  by  the  Vice-Chancellor, 
and  to  examine  into  the  good  order,  comfort,  and  cleanliness 
of  the  rooms  and  offices  of  the  students.  He  shall  make  a 
report  to  the  Vice- Chancellor  at  least  once  a  week.  He  shall 
account  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  University  for  all  matricula- 
tion fees  he  may  have  received. 

XIV.  REGISTRAR. 

The  Registrar,  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Trustees,  shall  be 
under  the  direction  and  supervision  of  the  Vice- Chancellor. 
He  shall  attend  daily  in  his  office  throughout  the  University 
term  at  such  hours  as  the  Vice-Chancellor  shall  prescribe,  and 
shall  be  in  readiness  at  all  times  to  attend  the  meetings  of 
the  Hebdomadal  Board,  for  the  purpose  of  recording  its 
proceedings.  He  shall  keep  a  list  of  the  licensed  boarding- 
houses,  also  a  list  of  the  names  and  residences  of  the  students, 
arranged  according  to  their  respective  schools,  and  shall  fur- 
nish each  Professor  with  a  list  of  the  students  in  his  depart- 
ment. He  shall  prepare  and  issue,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Vice-Chancellor,  notices  for  the  meeting  of  the  Hebdomadal 
Board,  and  for  other  University  purposes.  He  shall  digest 
the  weekly  reports  of  the  Professors  and  Assistant  Professors, 
and  shall,  under  the  direction  of  the  Vice-Chancellor,  prepare 
the  annual  Calendar.  He  shall,  under  the  same  direction, 
prepare  programmes  of  all  meetings  and  examinations,  and 
conduct  the  correspondence  of  the  University.  He  shall  keep 
a  record  of  all  transactions  of  the  University ;  and,  when  re- 
quired by  the  Vice-Chancellor,  shall  prepare  the  official  docu- 
ments, shall  preserve  copies  thereof,  and  shall  make  copies 
of  all  other  documents  which  may  be  required. 

XV.  TREASURER. 

The  Treasurer  of  the  University  shall  receive  all  funds 
from  Diocesan  Treasurers  and  from  the  Proctor,  and  shall 
collect  such  rents  due  the  University  as  may  be  returned  to 
him  by  the  Commissioner  of  Buildings  and  Lands.    He  shall 


294  APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER   VI. 

make  a  full  report  of  the  operations  and  condition  of  his  de- 
partment annually,  or  oftener  if  required. 

XVI.    AUDITOR. 

The  Auditor  shall  examine  and  audit  all  accounts  of  every 
description  against  the  University.  He  shall  critically  exam- 
ine and  report  to  the  Comptroller  the  amount  properly  pay- 
able upon  every  account  presented  to  him.  He  shall  classify 
all  accounts  under  the  different  heads  of  expenditure,  and 
keep  a  register  of  the  nature  and  amount  of  each  account, 
which  shall  correspond  with  the  number  of  such  account. 
He  shall  countersign  all  warrants  drawn  upon  the  Treasurer, 
and  shall  keep  a  register  of  all  such  warrants  as  he  may 
have  countersigned. 

XVII.    COMPTROLLER. 

Section  1.  The  Comptroller  shall  reexamine  all  accounts 
reported  to  him  by  the  Auditor.  He  shall,  if  he  approve  the 
same,  enter  his  allowance  thereon,  and  draw  his  warrant  on 
the  Treasurer  for  the  amount  of  the  same,  in  favor  of  the 
individual  to  whom  it  may  be  payable.  He  shall  carefully 
register  all  accounts  and  preserve  the  originals  and  vouchers 
for  future  reference.  He  may  draw  a  warrant  upon  the 
Treasurer  in  favor  of  the  Commissioner  of  Buildings  and 
Lands,  upon  a  requisition  presented  to  him,  approved  by  the 
Vice-Chancellor,  which  warrant  shall  be  charged  to  the  ac- 
count of  such  Commissioner ;  provided  that  such  payments 
have  been  authorized  by  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

Sec.  2.  The  Comptroller  shall  annually  report  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Finance,  ten  days  before  the  annual  meeting  of. 
the  Board  of  Trustees,  a  full  statement  of  all  the  accounts 
allowed  and  passed  by  him,  properly  classified  under  their 
respective  heads  of  expenditure.  He  shall  also,  at  the  same 
time,  report  estimates  of  what  amounts  will  be  requisite  for 
the  expenditures  of  the  University  during  the  ensuing  year, 
and  the  Board  of  Trustees  only  shall  have  the  power  to  make 
appropriations  to  meet  such  expenditures. 


APPENDIX  TO   CHAPTER   VI.  295 


XVIII.    COMMISSIONER  OF  BUILDINGS  AND  LANDS. 

Section  1.  The  Commissioner  of  Buildings  and  Lands  shall 
have  the  supervision  of  all  repairs  ordinarily  required  for  the 
buildings  and  grounds,  under  the  direction  of  a  Board  of 
Control,  to  be  composed  of  the  Vice-Chancellor,  the  Trea- 
surer, and  the  Comptroller.  To  this  Board  he  shall  submit 
all  plans  and  estimates  for  the  repair  and  improvement  of 
buildings  from  time  to  time,  and  upon  their  approval  he 
shall  be  authorized  to  have  the  same  executed,  and  not  other- 
wise. The  general  control  of  the  erection  of  buildings  and 
making  improvements  shall  be  reserved,  however,  to  such 
Committee  as  shall  be  designated  by  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

Sec.  2.  The  Commissioner  of  Buildings  and  Lands  shall 
have  the  leasing  of  the  tenements  and  grounds  of  the  Uni- 
versity, under  such  regulations  as  may  be  prescribed  in  refer- 
ence thereto  by  the  Board  of  Trustees ;  and  it  shall  be  his 
duty  to  prevent  trespasses  and  intrusions  on  the  property 
of  the  University,  real  and  personal,  and  to  recover  its  pos- 
session from  any  person  who  shall  improperly  withhold  the 
same.  To  this  end  he  is  required  to  be  vigilant  in  observing 
all  trespasses  and  intrusions,  and  prompt  in  reporting  them 
to  the  Vice-Chancellor,  in  laying  them  before  the  civil  au- 
thority, and  communicating  to  the  proper  law-officer,  when 
required  by  the  Vice-Chancellor,  such  information  as  he  may 
at  any  time  have,  and  as  may  be  calculated  to  prevent  or 
punish  breaches  of  the  peace,  trespasses,  or  misdemeanors 
within  the  precincts  of  the  University,  and  instantly  to  repel 
from  the  precincts  all  idle  or  suspicious  intruders  who  may 
be  found  lurking  within  them  without  ostensible  business. 

Sec.  3.  He  shall  cause  all  the  grounds  and  tenements  of 
the  University  to  be  kept  in  complete  order  and  neatness, 
and  shall  have  authority  to  abate  all  nuisances  on  the  Uni- 
versity domain. 

XIX.    BOARDING  AND  LODGING  HOUSES. 

Section  1.  All  students  shall  be  required  to  board  and 
lodge  in  such  houses  as  shall  be  provided  or  licensed  for  that 


296  APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER    VI. 

purpose  by  the  University,  except  in  cases  where  they  may 
have  parents,  guardians,  or  relatives  residing  on  the  domain 
of  the  University. 

Sec.  2.  The  number  of  students  occupying  any  one  house 
shall  not  exceed  twelve.  Rates  of  board  shall  be  regulated 
from  time  to  time  by  the  Vice-Chancellor  and  the  Hebdoma- 
dal Board. 

Sec.  3.  An  amount  sufficient  to  cover  the  expense  of  a 
student's  board  and  lodging  for  three  months  shall,  in  all 
cases,  be  required  to  be  deposited  with  the  Treasurer  of  the 
University,  who  shall,  upon  the  order  of  the  student,  pay  such 
boarding-house  keeper,  monthly,  in  advance. 

Sec.  4.  No  person  shall  be  permitted  to  keep  a  boarding- 
house  at  the  University  until  a  license  shall  have  been  ob- 
tained from  the  Vice-Chancellor,  which  license  shall  be 
renewed  annually.  All  such  licenses  may  be  revoked  for 
cause  at  any  time. 

Sec.  5.  The  keepers  of  all  licensed  boarding-houses  shall 
be  held  responsible  for  the  preservation  of  good  order  in  their 
respective  houses. 

Sec.  6.  The  licenses  obtained  by  boarding-house  keepers 
shall  be  posted  in  some  conspicuous  place  Within  the  house, 
for  the  inspection  of  all  persons. 

XX.     GYMNASIUM. 

The  Hebdomadal  Board  shall  have  power  to  establish  a 
gymnasium  for  athletic  exercises,  and  any  other  school  of  a 
useful  and  refining  influence,  and  to  appoint  the  officers 
thereof. 

XXI.     OFFENSES. 

Section  1.  Offenses  against  the  statutes  of  the  University 
shall  be  punished  in  such  manner  as  shall  hereafter  be  pre- 
scribed by  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

Sec.  2.  Offenses  against  the  laws  of  the  land  shall  be  left 
to  the  cognizance  of  the  civil  magistrate,  if  claimed  by  him, 
or  may  be  subjected  by  the  Hebdomadal  Board  to  any  of  the 


APPENDIX  TO   CHAPTER    VI.  297 

punishments  permitted  by  the  statutes,   whether  the   civil 
magistrate  has  taken  cognizance  of  them  or  not. 

XXII.    ANNUAL  MEETING  OF  THE  BOARD  OF 
TRUSTEES. 

There  shall  be  an  annual  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees at  the  site  of  the  University,  on  the  second  Monday  in 
July  in  each  and  every  year. 

XXIII.    LIABILITY  FOR  SALARIES. 

In  case  of  the  removal  of  any  officer  of  the  University  by 
the  Board  of  Trustees  before  the  termination  of  his  pre- 
scribed tenure  of  office,  he  shall  have  no  claim  whatever  for 
the  proportion  of  salary  appertaining  to  the  unexpired  term 
of  such  tenure. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

DIOCESE   OF  LOUISIANA  AND  THE   CONFEDERATE   STATES. 
1860  TO  1861. 

A  ferment  of  political  excitement.  —  Letter  to  President  Buchanan. — 
Pastoral  letters. —  Forms  of  prayer. —  Secession  of  Louisiana. —  Corre- 
spondence with  Bishop  Potter. — Position  of  the  Church. — Diocesan  work. 
—  Incendiary  outrage. —  Burning  the  bishop's  house. —  Church  con- 
vention at  St.  Francis ville. — The  Church  and  secession. —  Address  to 
the  convention. —  Report  of  the  committee  on  the  state  of  the  Church. 

During  the  last  year  of  Bishop  Polk's  work  for  the 
university,  the  South  was  in  a  ferment  of  political  excite- 
ment. The  presidential  election  of  1860  surpassed  all 
previous  elections  in  the  magnitude  of  the  interests 
involved,  in  the  energy  with  which  it  was  prosecuted, 
and  in  the  anxiety  with  which  the  issue  of  the  contest 
was  expected.  Throughout  the  turmoil  of  that  anxious 
time  Bishop  Polk,  when  he  was  not  occupied  in  his  epis- 
copal visitations,  was  quietly  engaged  in  studying  the 
statutes,  in  consulting  with  architects  and  engineers,  in 
personally  supervising  the  preparation  of  the  domain  at 
Sewanee,  in  meetings  of  the  trustees,  in  correspondence 
with  eminent  educators,  and  finally,  on  the  very  eve  of 
election,  in  laying  the  cornerstone  of  the  first  permanent 
building  of  the  university.  Nothing  could  more  effect- 
ually disprove  the  assertion  that  he  was  one  of  those 
who  were  said  to  be  plotting  for  a  dissolution  of  the 
Union  than  the  simple  record  of  his  occupations  during 

298 


MUte]  CIVIL    WAR  IMMINENT.  299 

the  full  year  which  preceded  the  election  of  1860.  No 
man  of  common  reason  could  have  applied  himself  with 
such  unremitting  patience  and  such  unwearying  energy 
to  a  work  which  revolution  must  disturb  and  perhaps 
destroy,  if  he  had  been,  at  the  same  time,  plotting  or 
even  expecting  revolution. 

The  questions  before  a  man  in  the  position  of  Bishop 
Polk  were  these :  Whether  the  unconditional  secession 
of  the  Southern  States  was  really  an  imminent  event, 
and  whether  they  would  maintain  their  right  of  secession 
by  force  of  arms  in  case  of  such  necessity.  The  facts 
around  him  left  no  room  for  doubt  on  either  of  these 
questions.  Within  a  very  short  time  after  the  election 
no  man  who  knew  the  southern  people  as  he  knew  them 
could  mistake  the  signs  of  the  times.  The  only  thing  to 
be  determined  was  whether  the  States  lately  united,  and 
still  in  form  united,  were  to  be  arrayed  against  each  other 
in  an  internecine  war.  He  feared  that  an  erroneous 
judgment,  founded  on  misinformation,  might  induce  the 
Federal  administration  to  take  certain  steps  which  would 
precipitate  a  conflict.  He  knew  that  he  had  exception- 
ally adequate  opportunities  for  ascertaining  the  temper 
and  purpose  of  the  people  of  his  section,  and  that  any 
statement  of  them  which  he  might  make  would  be  en- 
titled to  receive,  and  would  receive,  the  most  serious  at- 
tention. Accordingly,  he  addressed  the  following  letter 
to  the  President  of  the  United  States : 

New  Orleans,  December  26, 1860. 
To  His  Excellency,  James  Buchanan,  President,  etc. : 

At  a  time  like  this  it  is  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to  aid  in 
clearing  away  the  difficulties  by  which  we  are  surrounded,  and 
to  prevent,  if  possible,  further  complications.  It  is  under  a 
sense  of  duty  that  I  take  the  liberty  of  addressing  you.  Of 
your  integrity  of  purpose  or  patriotic  devotion  to  what  you 


300  THE  ATTITUDE   OF  THE  SOUTH.  [1860 

regard  as  the  true  interests  of  the  country,  I  have  not  a  doubt, 
nor  have  I  any  doubt  of  your  firmness  of  intention  to  dis- 
charge your  duty  as  a  man  in  public  office  in  the  existing 
emergency ;  yet  I  have  not  been  without  fear  that  the  want 
of  accurate  and  reliable  information  as  to  the  true  state  of 
feeling  and  determination  of  the  southern  States  might  cause 
you  to  interpret  your  obligations  to  your  oath  of  office  differ- 
ently from  what  you  would  if  you  were  in  full  possession  of 
the  facts  as  they  are.  Doubtless  you  are  required  to  enforce 
the  laws  j  but  assuredly  no  sane  man  will  say  "  without  re- 
gard to  consequences."  That  would  be  madness.  A  right  to 
exercise  a  sound  discretion  necessarily  accompanied  the  im- 
position and  the  acceptance  of  the  oath  of  office.  Such  must 
be  the  judgment  of  our  Christian  civilization.  And  to  assume 
the  responsibility  of  exercising  that  right  when  such  issues  as 
those  with  which  you  are  called  to  deal  are  impending,  as  it 
is  the  most  trying  ordeal  to  which  any  chief  magistrate  of  our 
republic  has  ever  been  subjected,  involves  the  highest  exercise 
of  courageous  independence  and  the  most  discriminating  and 
considerate  regard  to  the  duties  of  your  own  position  and  the 
best  interests  of  those  whose  destinies  are  in  your  hands. 

My  position  and  opportunities  give  me  the  amplest  facilities 
for  knowing  the  actual  state  of  mind  of  the  people  of  Louisi- 
ana and  of  the  surrounding  southern  States,  and  I  write  to 
say  that  I  am  thoroughly  convinced  that  they  have  deliberately 
and  inflexibly  resolved  to  cut  themselves  off  from  the  Union. 
This  feeling  is  deepening  and  widening  every  day,  and  no 
difference  exists  except  as  to  the  mode  of  effecting  it.  To 
attempt  to  prevent  it  by  force  of  arms  would  instantly  ex- 
tinguish that  difference  and  unite  the  whole  population  as  one 
man.  State  boundaries  would  be  forgotten  in  a  sense  of 
common  danger ',  the  cause  of  one  would  become  the  cause  of 
all;  a  conflict  would  be  inaugurated  to  end  only  after  the  most 
ruthless  carnage  had  desolated  the  land,  and  freedom  perhaps 
had  been  extinguished  under  the  trial  of  a  military  despotism. 
Such  an  issue  the  people  of  the  South  would  gladly  decline. 
It  is  with  you,  dear  sir,  mainly  to  say  whether  it  shall  be  forced 
upon  them.    But  whatever  the  determination  of  the  national 


Mt.  54]  PEACEFUL  SEPABATION.  301 

Executive  may  be,  they  have  resolved  to  accept  that  deter- 
mination, to  plant  themselves  on  what  they  hold  to  be  their 
rights,  and  to  resist  all  efforts  to  infringe  them,  come  from 
whence  they  may.  We  believe  it  is  practicable  for  the  two 
parties  to  separate  peacefully  ;  this  we  most  earnestly  desire. 
The  difficulty  of  your  position  we  fully  appreciate,  and  every 
effort  will  be  made  to  disembarrass  it  as  much  as  possible. 
We  cannot  see  that,  with  the  views  you  have  expressed  and 
the  course  you  have  already  pursued,  any  issue  ought  to  arise 
which  could  not  be  peaceably  disposed  of,  and  we  trust  that 
the  spirit  of  moderation  which  has  thus  far  characterized  your 
policy  in  the  existing  emergency  may  be  continued  until  our 
difficulties  have  been  finally  and  amicably  terminated. 

I  have  not  a  doubt  that  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama,  Missis- 
sippi, and  Louisiana  will  all  have  followed  the  example  of 
South  Carolina,  and  will  be  out  of  the  Union  by  the  1st  of 
February;  that  they  will  have  formed  a  separate  govern- 
ment by  the  1st  of  March  ;  and  that  the  other  southern  States 
will  sooner  or  later  all  join  them.  Nor  do  I  believe  that  in 
that  event  there  will  be  the  remotest  prospect  for  the  re- 
union of  the  two  sections  so  long  as  slave  labor  shall  prove 
advantageously  applicable  to  the  agricultural  wants  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy. 

With  my  earnest  prayer  that  you  may  have  grace  and 
strength  given  you  to  support  you  in  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  of  your  trying  position,  and  that  you  may  decide  wisely 
for  yourself,  your  countrymen,  and  the  best  interests  of  man- 
kind, I  remain, 

Respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

Leonidas  Polk. 


Beyond  this  effort  to  avert  a  danger  which  he  saw 
more  clearly  than  most  other  men,  I  do  not  find  that 
Bishop  Polk  did  more,  before  the  adoption  of  the  ordi- 
nance of  secession  by  the  convention  of  the  State  of  Lou- 
isiana, than  observe  the  course  of  events  and  consider 
what  his  duty  as  a  bishop  might  require  of  him  in  view 


302  A  BELIEVER  IN  STATE  BIGHTS.         [1860 

of  facts  as  they  occurred.  That  he  was  in  full  sympathy 
with  the  feelings  of  his  people  there  is  no  question,  and 
there  is  as  little  question  that  he  believed  the  southern 
States  to  have  the  constitutional  right  to  take  the  step 
on  which  they  were  resolved.  He  had  not  a  particle 
of  doubt  that  an  ordinance  of  secession  adopted  by  a 
sovereign  State  would  be  as  valid  as  the  act  by  which 
the  same  State  had  entered  the  Federal  Union  j  and  con- 
cerning the  personal  allegiance  of  the  citizen,  he  held, 
as  he  had  been  taught  at  the  national  military  acad- 
emy at  West  Point/  that  it  is  due  first  to  the  State,  and 
only  secondarily,  through  the  State,  to  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment, in  such  matters  and  for  such  purposes  as  the 
States  have  declared  by  the  express  provisions  of  the 
Constitution. 

In  the  light  of  these  principles,  which  he  held  to  be 
merely  axiomatic,  the  course  of  the  Church  in  any  State 
which  might  adopt  an  ordinance  of  secession  seemed  to 
him  to  be  clear.  With  the  expediency  or  inexpediency 
of  secession  the  Church  had  no  concern ;  in  the  agita- 
tions which  might  bring  about  secession  she  could  have 
no  part ;  but  if  secession  should  become  a  fact,  it  would 
be  a  fact  in  which  the  Church  must  acquiesce  and  of 
which  she  must  accept  the  ecclesiastical  consequences. 
Moreover,  the  action  of  the  Church  in  any  matter  which 
the  course  of  events  might  require  her  to  decide  ought 
to  be  so  prompt  and  unequivocal  as  to  leave  no  room 
for  doubt  either  of  her  principles  of  action  or  of  the 
position  of  her  members  and  officers.  In  his  office  as  a 
bishop  of  the  Church,  he  held  himself  bound  to  be  gov- 
erned by  these  principles,  but  he  made  no  distinction 
between  his  official  actions  as  a  bishop  and  his  personal 
conduct  as  a  man.  What  it  was  not  right  or  seemly  for 
a  bishop  to  do  it  could  not  be  expedient  for  Leonidas 

1  "Rawle's  View  of  the  Constitution." 


Mt.  54]  PRAYER  FOR  FAST  DAY.  303 

Polk  to  do  on  any  ground  of  personal  liberty  or  natu- 
ral independence.  When  one  remembers  his  generous 
warmth  of  temperament,  his  entire  sympathy  with  the 
feelings  of  his  people,  and  his  hatred  of  disingenuous 
reserve,  his  self-control  at  this  time  commands  not  only 
approbation  but  admiration ;  for  it  does  not  appear  that 
he  contributed  so  much  as  the  influence  of  a  word  to  the 
forces  which  were  precipitating  the  dissolution  of  the 
Union.  Never  in  his  life  did  he  hold  himself  more  thor- 
oughly in  hand  than  at  that  time,  when  thousands  of 
the  ablest  men  in  the  country  seemed  to  have  abdicated 
reason  and  to  be  swayed  only  by  passion. 

On  the  28th  of  December,  1860,  the  President  of  the 
United  States  issued  a  proclamation,  inviting  the  people 
of  the  whole  nation  to  unite  in  the  observance  of  a  day 
of  fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer,  in  view  of  the  polit- 
ical differences  then  agitating  the  Union;  and  on  the 
following  day  the  bishop  addressed  a  brief  pastoral  letter 
to  the  clergy  and  laity  of  his  diocese,  setting  forth  a  form 
of  prayer  to  be  used  on  the  occasion : 

PASTORAL  OF  DECEMBER  29,  1860. 

The  clergy  of  the  diocese  of  Louisiana  are  requested  to  use 
the  following  prayer  on  the  day  appointed  by  the  President 
of  the  United  States  as  a  day  of  fasting,  humiliation,  and 
prayer,  and  at  such  other  times  as  may  seem  advisable  during 

the  existing  emergency. 

Leonidas  Polk, 
Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Louisiana. 
New  Orleans,  December  29, 1860. 

PRAYER. 

0  Almighty  God,  the  Fountain  of  all  wisdom  and  the  Helper 
of  all  who  call  upon  thee,  we  thy  unworthy  servants,  under 
a  deep  sense  of  the  difficulties  and  dangers  by  which  we  are 


304  SECESSION  OF  LOUISIANA.  [1861 

now  surrounded,  turn  our  hearts  to  thee  in  earnest  supplica- 
tion and  prayer.  "We  humble  ourselves  before  thee  5  we  con- 
fess that  as  a  nation  and  as  individuals  we  have  grievously 
offended  thee,  and  that  our  sins  have  justly  provoked  thy 
wrath  and  indignation  against  us.  Deal  not  with  us,  0  Lord, 
according  to  our  iniquities,  but  according  to  thy  great 
and  tender  mercies,  and  forgive  us  all  that  is  past.  Turn 
thine  anger  from  us,  and  visit  us  not  with  those  evils  which 
we  have  justly  deserved.  Guide  and  direct  us  in  all  our 
consultations ;  save  us  from  all  ignorance, —  error,  pride,  and 
prejudice  j  and  if  it  please  thee,  compose  and  heal  the  divi- 
sions which  disturb  us  j  or  else,  if,  in  thy  good  providence, 
it  be  otherwise  appointed,  grant,  we  beseech  thee,  that  the 
spirit  of  wisdom  and  moderation  may  preside  over  our  coun- 
cils, that  the  just  rights  of  all  may  be  maintained  and  ac- 
corded, and  that  the  blessings  of  peace  may  be  preserved  to 
us  and  our  children  throughout  all  generations.  All  which 
we  ask  through  the  merits  and  mediation  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ.    Amen. 

On  the  26th  of  January,  1861,  the  convention  of  the 
State  of  Louisiana  passed  an  ordinance  of  secession, 
withdrawing  from  the  Union,  and  a  few  days  later,  on 
January  30, 1861,  the  bishop  addressed  a  second  pastoral 
letter  to  his  diocese : 

PASTORAL  LETTER  OP  JANUARY  30,  1861. 

To  the  Clergy  and  Laity  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
Diocese  of  Louisiana : 

My  beloved  Brethren:  The  State  of  Louisiana,  having,  by  a 
formal  ordinance,  through  her  delegates  in  convention  assem- 
bled, withdrawn  herself  from  all  further  connection  with  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  constituted  herself  a  separate 
sovereignty,  has,  by  that  act,  removed  our  diocese  from  the 
pale  of  the  "  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States." 
We  have,  therefore,  an  independent  diocesan  existence. 

Of  the  circumstances  which  have  occasioned  this  act,  it 


Mi.  54]  ATTITUDE  PROPOSED  FOB  DIOCESE.     305 

may  not  be  necessary  now  to  speak.  They  are  familiar  to 
you  all.  It  is,  however,  our  happiness  to  know  that  in  can- 
vassing the  sum  of  the  political  grievances  of  which  we  have 
complained,  we  find  no  contribution  made  to  it  by  brethren 
of  our  own  household.  Our  Church  in  the  non-slavehold- 
ing  States,  as  everywhere,  has  been  loyal  to  the  Constitution 
and  the  laws.  Her  sound  conservative  teaching  and  her  well- 
ordered  organization  have  held  her  steadily  to  her  proper 
work,  and  she  has  confined  herself  simply  to  preaching  and 
teaching  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Surrounded  by  a  strong  pres- 
sure on  every  side,  she  has  successfully  resisted  its  power, 
and  has  refused  to  lend  the  aid  of  her  conventions,  her  pul- 
pits, and  her  presses  to  the  radical  and  unscriptural  propa- 
gandism  which  has  so  degraded  Christianity  and  has  plunged 
our  country  into  its  unhappy  condition. 

In  withdrawing  ourselves,  therefore,  from  all  political  con- 
nection with  the  Union  to  which  our  brethren  belong,  we  do 
so  with  hearts  filled  with  sorrow  at  the  prospect  of  its  forcing 
a  termination  of  our  ecclesiastical  connection  with  them  also, 
and  that  we  shall  be  separated  from  those  whose  intelligence, 
patriotism,  Christian  integrity  and  piety  we  have  long  known, 
and  for  whom  we  entertain  sincere  respect  and  affection. 
Unfortunately  the  class  they  represent  was  numerically  too 
small  to  control  their  section.  They  have  been  overborne 
and  silenced,  and  a  different  description  of  mind  and  charac- 
ter is  in  the  ascendant.  The  principles  and  purposes  of  this 
party  have  long  been  the  subject  of  careful  observation  by 
the  people  of  the  southern  States,  and  they  have  watched  its 
rise  and  progress  with  anxious  solicitude.  They  thought 
they  saw  in  it  the  seeds  of  all  the  evil  from  which  our  country 
is  now  suffering,  and  have  not  failed  to  employ  all  the  re- 
sources at  their  command  to  avert  it.  Their  efforts  have 
been  fruitless,  and  they  have  seen  no  way  of  escape  from  the 
consequences  to  themselves  and  their  posterity  other  than 
that  which  they  have  taken.  Of  the  justice  of  our  cause  we 
have  no  doubt.  Of  the  wisdom  of  the  measures  which  we 
have  adopted  to  maintain  it,  we  may  judge  from  the  charac- 
ters of  the  men  who  are  engaged  in  supporting  them.    With 


306  SECESSION  RECOGNIZED.  [1861 

here  and  there  an  exception,  they  represent  the  intelligence, 
the  character,  and  the  wealth  of  the  State.  We  have  taken 
our  stand,  we  humbly  trust,  in  the  fear  of  God  and  under  a 
sense  of  the  duty  which  we  owe  to  mankind. 

Our  separation  from  the  brethren  of  the  "Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  in  the  United  States  "  has  been  effected  because 
we  must  follow  our  nationality ;  not  because  there  has  been 
any  difference  of  opinion  as  to  Christian  doctrine  or  catholic 
usage.  Upon  these  points  we  are  still  one.  With  us  it  is  a 
separation,  not  division ;  certainly  not  alienation.  And  there 
is  no  reason  why,  if  we  should  find  the  union  of  our  dioceses 
under  one  national  Church  impracticable,  we  should  cease  to 
feel  for  each  other  the  respect  and  regard  with  which  purity 
of  manners,  high  principle,  and  a  manly  devotion  to  truth 
never  fail  to  inspire  generous  minds.  Our  relations  to  each 
other  hereafter  will  be  the  relations  we  both  now  hold  to  the 
men  of  our  mother-church  of  England. 

But  the  time  has  not  arrived  for  entering  fully  into  the  dis- 
cussions of  the  questions  suggested  by  this  occasion,  and  I 
have  so  far  remarked  upon  them  because  some  notice  of  our 
relations  to  the  national  church  from  which  we  have  separated 
seemed  called  for  by  the  event,  and  because  of  the  necessity 
which  that  event  creates  for  certain  alterations  in  the  services 
of  our  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 

In  pursuance  of  this  necessity  and  under  the  authority  of 
my  office,  I  appoint  for  the  present  the  following  changes, 
and  request  my  brethren  of  the  clergy  to  observe  them  on  all 
occasions  of  public  worship : 

In  the  Prayer  for  Congress,  for  the  words,  "  the  people  of 
these  United  States  in  general,  and  especially  for  their  sena- 
tors and  representatives  in  Congress  assembled,"  substitute 
the  words,  "the  people  of  this  State  in  general,  and  especially 
their  Legislature,  now  in  session." 

In  the  Prayer  for  those  in  Civil  Authority,  for  the  words, 
"the  President  of  the  United  States,"  use  the  words,  "the 
Governor  of  this  State." 

I  also  appoint  the  following  prayer  to  be  used  during  the 
session  of  the  convention  of  this  State,  and  during  the  ses- 


Mt.  54]  PRAYER  FOR   CONVENTION.  307 

sion  of  the  convention  of  snch  other  States  as  have  withdrawn 
from  the  late  Federal  Union  and  propose  to  join  Louisiana  in 
the  formation  of  a  separate  government. 
I  remain,  very  truly, 

Your  obedient  servant  in  Christ, 
Leonidas  Polk, 
Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  Diocese  of  Louisiana. 
New  Orleans,  January  30,  1861. 

A  PRAYER  TO  BE  USED  DURING  THE  SESSION  OF  CONVENTION. 

Almighty  God,  the  sovereign  Ruler  of  the  Universe,  whose 
never-failing  providence  ordereth  all  things  in  heaven  and 
earth,  we  thy  unworthy  servants  commend  to  thy  special 
protection  the  convention  of  this  State 1  now  in  session. 
Impress  them  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  responsibility  with 
which  they  are  charged.  Grant  unto  them  the  spirit  of  wis- 
dom and  moderation,  the  spirit  of  knowledge  and  of  a  sound 
mind,  and  fill  them,  0  Lord,  with  the  spirit  of  thy  holy  fear. 
Preserve  them  from  the  delusions  of  pride  and  vainglory. 
Deliver  them  from  the  temptation  to  aim  at  other  ends  than 
those  which  promote  thy  glory  and  the  best  interests  of  their 
country.  Save  them  from  the  fear  or  favor  of  men.  Make 
plain  their  way  before  them,  and  strengthen  their  hearts  that 
they  may  pursue  it  with  firmness  even  to  the  end.  And  grant, 
0  Lord,  that  through  their  labors  and  under  the  guidance  of 
thy  good  Spirit,  all  things  may  be  so  settled  that  we  may  be 
protected  from  all  injustice,  that  our  rights  may  be  amply  se- 
cured, and  that  the  course  of  this  world  may  be  so  peaceably 
ordered  by  thy  governance  that  we  may  joyfully  serve  thee 
in  all  godly  quietness.  All  which  we  ask  through  the  merits 
and  mediation  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.     Amen. 

'  Should  the  convention  of  those  States  which  have  withdrawn  from 
the  Union  be  in  session  at  the  same  time,  introduce  here  the  words, 
"and  the  convention  of  southern  States."  If  either  convention  should 
adjourn,  the  other  being  in  session,  the  language  used  will  be  altered 
accordingly. 


308  THE   CONFEDERACY  FORMED.  [1861 

Within  three  weeks  after  the  sending  out  of  this  pas- 
toral the  Southern  Confederacy  had  been  formed.  Into 
this  Confederacy  Louisiana  entered.  The  bishop  accord- 
ingly, on  February  20,  1861,  issued  a  third  pastoral : 

To  the  Clergy  of  the  Diocese  of  Louisiana :  The  progress  of 
affairs  makes  it  expedient  to  direct  further  changes  in  the 
public  services  of  the  Church. 

In  the  Prayer  for  those  in  Civil  Authority,  for  the  words, 
"  the  President  of  the  United  States,"  substitute  the  words, 
"the  President  of  the  Confederate  States." 

In  the  special  prayer  set  forth  in  my  letter  of  the  30th  ult., 
for  the  words,  "and  the  Convention  of  Southern  States," 
substitute  the  words,  "and  the  Congress  of  the  Confederate 
States." 

The  Prayer  for  the  Legislature,  as  already  indicated,  will 
be  continued  during  its  sessions. 
I  remain,  very  truly, 

Your  servant  in  Christ, 

Leonidas  Polk, 
•    Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Louisiana. 
New  Orleans,  February  20,  1861. 

Between  the  26th  of  January,  on  which  the  State  of 
Louisiana  seceded  from  the  Union,  and  the  inauguration 
of  the  Confederate  Government  at  Montgomery,  less 
than  one  short  month  had  elapsed ;  and  during  the  suc- 
cessive changes  which  followed  one  another  with  such 
startling  rapidity,  Bishop  Polk  had  little  opportunity  to 
consult  with  his  brethren  of  the  episcopate.  It  is 
doubtful,  however,  whether  he  would  have  felt  disposed 
to  divide  the  responsibility  of  his  official  acts  even  with 
his  most  confidential  friends.  A  fortnight  before  the 
secession  of  Louisiana  Bishop  Atkinson  of  North  Caro- 
lina had  written  him,  expressing  his  opinion  that  the 
bishops  of  the  States  which  were  likely  to  secede  should 


Mi.  54]  A   DIFFICULT  POSITION.  309 

meet  for  conference,  in  order  to  decide  upon  some  com- 
mon course  of  action  in  the  novel  circumstances  in 
which  they  were  apparently  about  to  be  placed.  It  was 
difficult,  however,  for  such  a  meeting  to  be  held.  At 
such  a  time  no  bishop  would  willingly  be  absent  from  his 
diocese ;  and  there  were'  some  of  the  southern  bishops 
who  held  that  propriety  forbade  them  to  engage  in  a 
movement  which  might  be  construed  as  a  political  dem- 
onstration made  under  cover  of  an  ecclesiastical  confer- 
ence. Until  secession  had  actually  taken  place,  it  was 
rightly  felt  that  they  ought  not  to  take  any  action  which 
could  be  so  construed  even  by  the  most  unscrupulous 
malice.  But  beyond  all  considerations  of  that  kind, 
Bishop  Polk  seems  to  have  felt  that  the  condition  of 
affairs  was  one  which  could  not  have  been  foreseen,  and 
therefore  had  in  no  way  been  provided  for  by  any  ex- 
press action  of  the  Church,  and  consequently  that  the 
duty  of  the  bishops  in  the  premises  must  be  decided 
on  general  principles.  Of  those  principles  he  himself 
had  no  doubt ;  but  that  the  same  principles  would  be 
accepted  by  all  the  brethren  was  extremely  doubtful. 
He  was  not  prepared  to  surrender  one  jot  of  what  he 
believed  to  be  his  duty  either  to  the  Church  or  to  the 
State  of  which  he  was  a  citizen,  and  he  had  no  desire  to 
share  the  responsibility  of  his  official  acts  with  other 
men  who  might  be  less  fully  convinced  of  its  imperative 
obligation.  Therefore  his  preference,  as  well  as  the 
necessity  of  the  occasion,  moved  him  to  act  for  himself 
alone.  He  was  keenly  sensitive  to  the  opinion  of  men 
in  whom  he  had  confidence ;  as  little  as  any  other  man 
did  he  desire  to  gratify  self-will  or  to  constrain  his 
brethren  to  sustain  him  in  a  course  of  the  propriety  of 
which  they  were  not  convinced.  But  in  the  sight  of 
God,  of  the  Church,  and  of  the  State,  he  held  that  he 


310  RESPONSIBILITY  AND  SORROW.  [1861 

was  called  to  take  the  responsibility  of  deciding  the 
course  of  himself  and  his  diocese  5  and  he  chose  to  bear 
his  own  burden,  without  involving  any  others,  whether 
willingly  or  unwillingly,  in  the  consequences  of  his  acts. 
It  was  not  without  heartbreak  that  he  contemplated  the 
separation,  which  he  deemed  inevitable,  from  many  of 
his  old  friends  and  companions  of  the  North,  whom  he 
fully  acquitted  of  all  blame  for  the  unhappy  condition 
of  the  country.  In  one  way  or  another  it  was  impossi- 
ble for  him  to  refrain  from  expressing  his  affection  for 
them ;  but  not  even  in  letters  written  under  the  impulse 
of  the  warmest  affection  could  he  fail  to  declare  his  con- 
viction of  the  true  state  of  affairs  in  the  present  and  in 
the  fast-hastening  future.  Of  his  correspondence  at  this 
time  two  letters  have  fortunately  been  preserved.  They 
are  equally  honorable  to  him  and  to  the  honored  and 
beloved  Bishop  of  New  York,  who  was  his  correspondent. 
Though  they  are  not  essential  to  the  continuity  of  the 
story,  they  are  here  inserted. 

Bishop  Polk  to  Bishop  Potter. 

New  Orleans,  January  29,  1861. 
Right  Reverend  and  dear  Brother :  You  will  have  heard  by 
telegraph  before  this  reaches  you  that  Louisiana  has  seceded 
from  the  Union.  The  act  was  perfected,  so  far  as  her  inter- 
vention was  concerned,  on  Saturday  last.  Of  the  course  of 
those  States  that  have  preceded  her,  you  will  have  been  in- 
formed. To  the  hearts  of  all  good  men  such  events  cannot 
but  carry  sorrow,  as  evidences  of  the  overthrow  of  the  most 
magnificent  government  structure  the  world  ever  saw.  As 
to  the  causes  which  have  produced  this,  it  is  useless  to  refer 
now.  It  is  done,  and  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  us 
all  that  it  should  be  understood.  From  what  we  see  it  is 
plain  that  this  movement  of  the  southern  States  is  not  ap- 
preciated at  the  North.    Nothing  was  ever  more  deliberate, 


^Et.  54]         LETTER   TO  BISHOP  POTTER.  311 

nothing  in  all  its  bearings  on  the  future  more  closely  studied 
or  more  calmly  considered.  The  door  of  compromise,  so  far 
as  the  States  which  have  seceded  are  concerned,  is  closed; 
and  they  will  organize  themselves  into  a  separate  nationality 
at  Montgomery,  through  their  proper  representatives,  next 
week.  The  only  question  now  is,  whether  this  shall  be  done 
peaceably  with  the  consent  of  the  States  from  which  we  have 
separated,  or  whether  an  attempt  to  prevent  it  will  be  made 
by  an  appeal  to  arms.  The  right  to  secede  under  the  Con- 
stitution it  is  not  necessary  to  argue.  It  is  asserted  in  such 
forms  as  I  have  indicated,  and  it  has  been  done  with  all 
the  possible  consequences  in  full  view,  and  under  what  the 
parties  regard  as  the  highest  duty  to  themselves  and  all  those 
with  whom  they  stand  connected.  It  is  not  to  be  believed 
that  such  a  position,  taken  under  such  circumstances,  is  one 
which  would  be  relinquished  until  all  power  to  maintain  it 
had  been  exhausted.  All  this  devolves  upon  fellow-country- 
men of  the  North  the  responsibility  of  determining  whether 
the  interests  of  humanity  demand  the  maintenance  of  the 
General  Government  at  such  a  sacrifice  of  treasure  and  life 
as  must  follow  an  attempt,  by  force  of  arms,  to  prevent  a 
separation.  I  cannot  believe  that  they  are  prepared  for  this. 
If  it  were  a  mere  local  discontent  by  a  few  only,  whatever 
might  be  thought  of  the  right  of  the  parties,  there  might  be 
a  show  of.  reasonableness  in  disposing  of  it  in  such  a  way. 
But  this  movement  has  now  assumed  gigantic  proportions, 
and  in  case  of  war  would  involve  inevitably  one  half  of  the 
nation  in  conflict  with  the  other.  Are  we  prepared  for  this? 
What  could  compensate  us  for  such  a  war?  I  cannot  but 
think  and  hope  that  the  good  sense  and  Christian  feeling  of 
the  North  will  prevail  over  passion  and  pride,  and  that  we 
shall  be  saved  from  such  a  disaster  and  be  permitted  to  go 
in  peace.  It  is  our  very  great  happiness  to  know  that  the 
Church  has  stood  firm,  throughout  all  this  contest,  to  her 
duty  to  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  and  that  she  has  not 
contributed  in  the  very  least  to  the  causes  which  have 
brought  these  mischiefs  upon  us.  So  far  as  I  know,  this  is 
felt  and  confessed  throughout  the  South,  and  by  all  parties. 


312  BISHOP  POTTER'S  REPLY.  [1861 

Our  affection  for  our  brethren  in  the  North  has  not  been 
shaken,  therefore,  in  the  least,  and  we  earnestly  trust  that 
there  will  be  no  reason  why  it  should  be.  If  we  must  sepa- 
rate, it  must  be  to  follow  our  nationality,  and  not  because  we 
have  differed  on  any  point  of  Christian  doctrine  or  religious 
duty,  and  there  will  be  no  reason  why  we  should  not  con- 
tinue to  love  each  other  afterward  as  we  both  now  love  the 
men  of  the  Church  of  England. 

I  remain,  very  truly, 

Yours  in  Christ  and  his  Church, 

Leonidas  Polk. 
Rt.  Rev.  Horatio  Potter, 
New  York. 

Bishop  Potter  to  Bishop  Polk. 

New  York,  33  West  24th  Street, 

February  12, 1861. 

My  dear  Bishop :  I  thank  you  heartily  for  your  kind  note. 
I  am  deeply  grateful  for  every  token  of  fraternal  regard  from 
your  section  of  this  unhappy  country.  It  needs  that  one 
should  have  been  abroad  this  last  summer,  as  I  have  been,  in 
order  to  feel  how  deplorably  we  are  fallen.  When  I  observe 
how  much  everything  in  this  quarter  goes  on  as  usual, —  the 
same  rush  in  the  streets,  the  same  gay,  busy  throng,  driving, 
visiting,  dinners  and  parties, — I  find  it  difficult  to  believe  that 
we  are  indeed  in  the  midst  of  a  revolution.  I  am  afraid  that 
very  few  of  us,  North  or  South,  have  any  adequate  idea  of 
what  is  before  us  in  case  of  final  separation. 

Of  one  thing  I  am  thoroughly  convinced,  and  that  is,  that 
the  mass  of  the  people  are  better  than  the  politicians  that 
rule  them,  and  they  will  one  day  make  it  apparent.  I  preached 
on  our  national  fast  day,  reluctantly,  and  as  I  wrote,  saying 
severe  things  to  the  North,  I  thought  that  to  escape  with  a 
whole  skin  would  be  the  most  I  could  hope  for.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  whole  congregation  rose  up  and  asked  for  my  ser- 
mon with  strong  expressions  of  approval.  I  preached  my 
sermon  again,  reluctantly,  in  another  large  congregation,  and 
they  did  the  same  thing.    I  preached  it  to  a  country  congre- 


Mt.  54]  NORTHERN  SENTIMENTS.  313 

gation,  and  the  twenty  clergy  present  earnestly  asked  for  it, 
apparently  without  a  dissenting  voice.  So  much  for  the  ill- 
feeling  at  the  North  toward  the  South !  This  is  but  one  of 
hundreds  of  indications  of  northern  sentiments.  With  regard 
to  the  questions  of  peace  or  war,  we  are  in  the  hands  of  God. 
If  nothing  can  heal  this  breach,  I,  for  one,  most  earnestly  hope 
that  we  may  separate,  if  such  a  thing  be  possible,  peaceably. 
Whether  you  can  hope  that  the  northwest  will  ever  consent 
that  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  River  shall  be  in  the  hands 
of  a  foreign  power,  you  ought  to  be  better  able  than  I  am  to 
judge.  I  confess  I  think  it  very  unlikely.  It  seems  to  me  no 
very  encouraging  omen  that  the  Abolitionists  of  the  North  are 
mad  with  delight  at  the  prospect  of  disunion.  The  tone  of 
Tennessee,  and  Virginia,  and  Kentucky,  and  Maryland,  and 
North  Carolina  even,  seems  to  me  to  afford  some  ground  of 
hope  that  we  may  yet  find  some  basis  for  agreement.  It  has 
done  for  the  northern  mind  what  threats  and  secession  could 
not  do.     It  has  made  the  North  willing  to  try  to  harmonize. 

Most  warmly  do  I  reciprocate  all  that  you  say  of  your  feel- 
ing toward  brethren  at  the  North.  Our  feeling  toward  you 
and  your  brethren  (and  we  love  much,  though  we  may  have 
said  little)  is  not  in  the  least  changed.  Otey,  Green,  yourself, 
Elliott,  Davis,  etc., — no  men  in  the  Church  are  more  admired 
and  loved  at  the  North.  We  would  do  anything  for  you  in 
the  Church;  and  let  a  foreign  power  lay  but  its  little  finger 
upon  you  in  hostility,  and  you  shall  see  that  we  are  ready  to 
do  anything  for  you  in  your  civil  capacity.  God  most  merci- 
ful, guide,  preserve,  and  bless  you. 

Believe  me  to  be,  my  dear  Bishop  Polk, 

Ever  most  affectionately  yours, 

H.  Potter. 

To  the  Rt.  Rev.  Leonidas  Polk. 

If  the  gracious  and  manly  gentleness  of  Bishop  Potter 
is  an  ornament  to  the  northern  Church,  the  reluctance 
with  which  the  southern  bishops  admitted  the  principles 
set  forth  by  their  brother  of  Louisiana  is  not  less  hon- 
orable to  them.     Of  the  criticisms  of  the  pastorals  of 


314  AN  ECCLESIASTICAL   QUESTION.         [1861 

Bishop  Polk  which  appeared  in  the  northern  Church 
press,  with  one  exception,  it  is  needless  to  speak ;  in- 
deed, they  were  unworthy  of  consideration;  but  the 
editor  of  the  Church  Journal,  the  late  Dr.  John  Henry 
Hopkins,  had  the  learning  to  detect  a  flaw  in  the  bish- 
op's argument,  and  the  capacity  to  discuss  it  like  a 
scholar  and  a  gentleman.  He  took  exception  to  the 
bishop's  declaration  that  a  diocese  could,  by  any  means, 
and  particularly  by  the  action  of  the  civil  power,  be 
placed  in  a  position  of  diocesan  independence,  and  this 
criticism  was  undoubtedly  correct.  Under  no  system 
known  to  the  catholic  Church  can  any  diocese  have  a 
permanently  independent  existence.  In  one  generation 
the  succession  must  necessarily  fail  without  the  inter- 
vention of  other  dioceses,  and  during  that  one  genera- 
tion all  discipline  would  be  impossible. 

On  this  point  there  can  be  no  dispute  on  the  part  of 
any  person  who  believes  in  the  catholic  constitution  of 
the  Church.  It  may  therefore  be  at  once  confessed  that 
the  language  of  the  bishop's  pastoral  of  January  30, 
1860,  was  not  sufficiently  guarded.  When  he  said  that 
by  the  secession  of  the  State  of  Louisiana  the  diocese  of 
Louisiana  had  been  removed  "  from  within  the  pale  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States/' 
the  truth  of  the  assertion  depended  upon  two  questions  : 
first,  whether  the  ordinance  of  secession  adopted  by  the 
convention  of  the  State  of  Louisiana  was  an  effectual 
act — a  question  which  was  only  determined  by  the  arbit- 
rament of  war ;  and  second,  whether  the  constitution  of 
the  catholic  Church  in  general,  or  of  the  Church  in  this 
country  in  particular,  of  necessity  involved  the  separa- 
tion of  the  diocese  from  the  national  ecclesiastical  organ- 
ization, as  a  consequence  of  an  actual  secession  of  the 
States  from  the  national  Union  of  States.     The  first  was 


ML  54]        ISOLATION   OF  THE  DIOCESE.  315 

a  question  of  fact,  the  second  was  a  question  of  law. 
But,  however  the  fact  or  the  law  might  be,  no  fact  in 
the  history  of  any  country,  and  no  law  of  any  provincial 
or  national  Church,  could  have  the  effect  of  remitting  a 
diocese  of  the  catholic  Church  to  a  position  which  would 
be  a  contradiction  of  the  first  principles  of  all  catholic 
policy. 

If  Bishop  Polk  had  intended  to  maintain  any  such 
doctrine  he  would  have  been  on  the  verge  of  schism. 
But  Bishop  Polk  meant  nothing  of  the  kind.  The  word 
Independence  (which  he  used)  was  unfortunate.  Isola- 
tion would  have  better  expressed  his  real  meaning.  He 
held  the  secession  of  the  State  to  be,  in  right  and  in  fact, 
an  effectual  act,  and  he  held  that  the  Church  in  the 
United  States  was,  by  its  own  written  constitution,  so 
organized  as  a  national  Church  that  the  dioceses  belong- 
ing to  it  must  of  necessity  be  within  the  geographical 
boundaries  of  the  United  States.  It  followed  that  if 
the  State  of  Louisiana  had  been  in  fact,  as  he  believed, 
removed  from  within  those  boundaries,  the  diocese  must 
likewise  have  been  "removed  from  the  pale  of  the  Church 
in  the  United  States."  His  view  was  supported  by  the 
whole  Anglican  doctrine  of  national  churches,  and  cer- 
tainly by  the  precedent  of  the  origin  of  the  Church  in 
the  United  States,  in  which  it  had  been  assumed  from 
the  first  that  the  separation  of  the  colonies  from  the 
mother  country  "of  necessity"  involved  the  separate 
organization  of  a  national  Church  in  this  country. 

Nothing  on  this  subject  could  be  clearer  than  the  gen- 
eral principle  enunciated  and  applied  in  the  preface  to 
our  own  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  which  declares  that 
u  when  in  the  course  of  divine  Providence  these  Amer- 
ican States  became  independent  with  respect  to  civil 
government,  their  ecclesiastical  independence  was  neces- 


316  AN  ERROR  IN  TERMS.  [1861 

sarily  included  " ;  and  this  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
they  were  under  the  spiritual  jurisdiction  of  a  lawful 
bishop,  the  Bishop  of  London.  By  the  separation  of  the 
colonies  from  the  mother  country,  the  Church  in  Amer- 
ica held  that  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop  of  London, 
he  being  a  bishop  of  a  foreign  country,  was,  ipso  facto, 
vacated.  If  it  were  true,  as  Bishop  Polk  certainly  be- 
lieved, that  the  seceding  States  were  in  fact  separated 
from  the  United  States,  it  followed  that  the  dioceses  of 
those  States  could  be  no  longer  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  a  Church  which  had  become  to  them  a  foreign  Church. 
For  the  moment,  therefore,  the  diocese  of  Louisiana  had 
been  removed  from  its  association  with  the  national 
Church  with  which  it  had  been  united,  and  for  that 
moment  no  other  union  with  other  dioceses  was  possi- 
ble. For  that  moment,  therefore,  it  was  in  a  position  of 
isolation  imposed  upon  it  by  facts  over  which  it  had  no 
control.  It  was  in  a  position  in  which  it  was  not  possi- 
ble to  remain  and  in  which  it  did  not  desire  to  remain, 
but  from  which  it  had  just  then  no  power  to  escape. 

That  position  Bishop  Polk  somewhat  unhappily  des- 
ignated as  a  position  of  diocesan  independency.  As 
is  usual  in  such  cases,  the  controversy  between  men  of 
right  principles  was  a  controversy  concerning  words. 
The  facts  were  decided  by  a  tribunal  in  which  the  Church 
had  no  voice.  Respect  for  the  temperate  and  courteous 
animadversions  of  the  editor  of  the  Church  Journal  re- 
quires thus  much  explanation  •  that  they  received  Bishop 
Polk's  very  respectful  consideration  will  appear  later 
on  in  the  action  of  the  convention  of  the  diocese  of 
Louisiana. 

From  the  representatives  of  the  Church  in  the  north- 
ern States  Bishop  Polk  was  prepared  to  expect  adverse 
criticism,  but  he  was  not  prepared  for  the  strong  remon- 


Mt.  54]  CHARGE   OF  ERASTIANISM.  317 

strances  which  were  sent  to  him  by  southern  bishops. 
It  would  be  easy  to  dispose  of  them  by  saying  that  the 
arguments  of  those  gentlemen  were  set  aside  by  their 
conduct,  since  every  one  of  them,  not  long  afterward, 
virtually  assumed  the  same  position  and  followed  the 
same  course  which  Bishop  Polk  had  pursued  in  Louisi- 
ana. But  if  the  course  of  Bishop  Polk  was  in  fact  the 
right  course,  and  if  the  timely  adoption  of  that  course 
with  its  necessary  consequences  placed  the  southern 
Church  in  a  way  of  present  safety  which  at  last  led  to 
the  happy  reunion  of  our  whole  national  communion, 
the  objections  which  were  alleged  against  it  ought  not 
to  be  lightly  dismissed.  Those  objections  were  raised, 
not  by  enemies,  but  by  friends  and  brothers  whom  he 
loved  and  trusted.  Otey  of  Tennessee  and  Lay  of 
Arkansas  wrote  in  terms  of  love  and  pain  which  were  a 
joy  and  a  grief  to  him.  Their  points  were  that  he  had 
adopted  a  principle  of  sheer  Erastianism,  and,  what  was 
still  more  painful,  that  he  had  not  been  duly  faithful  to 
his  vow  of  consecration  as  a  bishop,  which  bound  him 
to  obedience  to  the  "  discipline  and  worship  of  the  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States." 

The  charge  of  Erastianism  is  so  feeble,  when  consid- 
ered on  its  merits  and  when  we  remember  the  acumen 
of  the  men  who  preferred  it,  that  it  must  have  repre- 
sented rather  their  reluctance  to  admit  the  conclusions 
at  which  Bishop  Polk  had  arrived  than  a  conviction  of 
his  error.  No  man  was  ever  more  jealous  than  he  of 
the  rights  and  dignities  of  the  Church  in  the  face  of  any 
authority  short  of  that  of  his  Master.  But  he  held  that 
the  Church  itself,  in  order  to  avoid  conflict  with  the 
civil  power,  had  freely  chosen  so  to  constitute  itself  as 
to  entail  certain  results  on  civil  action  of  which  he  was 
not  the  arbiter,  but  merely  the  observer.     His  vow  of 


318  NORTHERN  MISCONCEPTIONS.  [1861 

consecration  he  felt  that  he  was  bound  to  interpret  in 
its  relation  to  the  circumstances  in  which  he  found  him- 
self unexpectedly  placed.  In  ordinary  circumstances 
the  vow  was  absolute ;  but  the  circumstances  in  which 
he  actually  found  himself  had  not  been  contemplated 
when  that  vow  was  proposed  and  accepted.  The  pur- 
pose of  the  vow  had  therefore  to  be  considered.  Its 
intention  was  to  maintain  unity  among  the  members  of 
a  national  Church,  and  that  intention  was  subordinate 
and  subsidiary  to  the  paramount  purposes  for  which  the 
Church  exists.  In  the  providence  of  God,  as  he  believed, 
the  national  unity  had  been  destroyed,  consequently 
the  union  of  the  dioceses  of  the  national  Church  had 
lapsed  j  but  the  purposes  of  the  existence  of  the  Church 
had  not  lapsed,  and  could  not  lapse.  It  behoved  him, 
therefore,  as  a  catholic  bishop,  to  carry  out  the  catholic 
purpose  of  his  office,  notwithstanding  any  lapse  of  the 
particular  organization  with  which  he  had  been  con- 
nected j  and  in  so  doing  he  knew  that  he  was  not  only 
following  the  safe  rule  of  catholic  precedent,  but  also 
following  out  the  declared  principles  of  the  Church, 
which  had  demanded  and  received  his  vow  of  consecra- 
tion. Firmly  adhering  to  these  convictions,  he  met  the 
expostulations  of  men  like  Otey  and  Lay  with  a  direct 
and  simple  plainness  of  sincerity  which  was  worthy  of 
all  concerned,  and  in  the  end  the  southern  bishops, 
without  one  single  exception,  followed  the  course  of 
Polk,  however  they  might  continue,  in  pastoral  and 
other  pronunciamentos,  to  controvert  his  arguments  or 
to  debate  his  theoretical  positions. 

At  the  North,  however,  an  impression  prevailed  that 
the  bishop  desired  to  put  an  end  to  the  cooperation  of 
the  two  sections  of  the  Church  in  the  department  of 
Foreign  and  Domestic  Missions.    Nothing  could  have 


Mt.  54]  POLK'S  POSITION  DEFINED.  319 

been  further  from  his  intention.  He  had  contented  him- 
self with  declaring  what  he  believed  to  be  the  actual  and 
constitutional  status  of  his  diocese,  and  he  had  given  no 
intimation  either  of  an  opinion  or  of  a  desire  that  the 
former  cooperation  of  the  northern  and  the  southern 
sections  of  the  Church  should  be  discontinued.  Accord- 
ingly, to  meet  this  unforeseen  and  causeless  apprehen- 
sion, he  issued  his  pastoral  of  March  28, 1861,  as  follows : 

Brethren  of  the  Clergy  and  Laity :  I  have  been  informed  that, 
since  the  publication  of  my  pastoral  letter  of  the  30th  Jan- 
uary, some  embarrassment  has  arisen  in  certain  minds  as  to 
the  disposition  of  such  funds  as  have  been  usually  raised 
for  foreign  and  domestic  missions. 

The  object  of  that  letter  was  to  declare  the  theoretical 
status  of  our  diocese,  consequent  upon  the  change  of  our 
nationality,  by  the  separation  of  Louisiana  from  the  United 
States  of  America,  and  to  submit  that  status  as  my  authority, 
in  the  face  of  my  "  promise  of  conformity  "  to  the  "  discipline 
and  worship  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America,"  for  directing  such  changes  in  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  as  a  paramount  expediency  and  the  law  of 
Christ  himself  in  such  case  demanded.  It  concluded  nothing 
beyond.  It  nevertheless  looked  farther.  It  contemplated  the 
merging  of  our  State  nationality,  perfect  and  complete  in 
itself,  into  that  of  a  confederation  "to  be  composed  of  such 
other  States  as  have  withdrawn  from  the  late  Federal  Union," 
and  so  of  our  diocese  into  a  union  with  the  dioceses  in  those 
States  under  a  common  constitution.  Nay,  more,  it  did  not 
undertake  to  decide  whether  a  union  of  the  dioceses  within 
the  seceded  States  with  those  in  the  United  States  from  which 
they  were  thus  separated  would,  under  any  form,  be  "  im- 
practicable." It  only  indicated  the  relations  which  would 
subsist  between  them  in  case  such  a  union  should  not  be 
found  feasible.  It  took  the  ground  that,  from  the  terms  and 
conditions  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  of  the  con- 
stitution and  canons  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 


320  CHURCH   UNITY   UNTOUCHED.  [1861 

the  United  States  of  America,  and  from  the  necessities  of  the 
case,  a  separation  of  the  dioceses  in  the  seceding  States  was 
forced  from  the  dioceses  of  the  United  States.  It  drew  a  dis- 
tinction between  nnion  in  legislation,  whether  constitutional 
or  canonical,  and  unity  in  Christian  doctrine  and  catholic 
usage.  The  former  is  national,  and  therefore  local,  and  is 
subject  properly  to  such  changes  as  the  law  of  expediency  or 
of  necessity  may  demand.  The  latter  is  universal,  and  beyond 
the  reach  of  all  changes  in  political  government,  and  is  that 
in  which  consists  the  essence  of  the  oneness  of  the  body  of 
Christ. 

A  change  in  church  union,  therefore,  does  not  necessarily 
involve  a  breach  of  church  unity.  "  The  liberty  wherewith 
Christ  has  made  us  free  "  may  allow  us,  without  offense,  to 
accept  a  status  which  necessity,  not  to  say  the  providence 
of  God,  has  forced  upon  us,  provided  the  doctrine  of  his 
church  and  the  order  of  its  administrations  in  all  of  those 
things  which  are  vital  be  left  unimpaired. 

The  confederation  of  these  States,  which  at  the  date  of  that 
letter  was  a  foreshadowed  event,  has  now  become  a  reality. 
The  organization  of  the  new  government  has  been  completed 
and  a  permanent  constitution  adopted.  Time  has  not  allowed 
us  as  yet  opportunity  to  consult  with  our  sister  dioceses  as  to 
the  proper  course  to  be  pursued,  either  with  reference  to  a 
separate  organization  or  the  relations  which  it  may  be  prac- 
ticable to  establish  with  our  sister  dioceses  in  the  United 
States. 

I  cannot  doubt,  however,  that  some  plan  will  be  adopted 
by  which  the  dioceses  of  the  Confederate  States  will  be 
brought  into  a  practical  union,  and  I  do  not  now  see  why 
some  basis  of  connection  may  not  be  agreed  upon,  by  which 
our  respective  organizations,  North  and  South,  while  left  free 
in  all  those  respects  in  which  freedom  is  expedient,  may  con- 
tinue to  act  together  in  such  things  as  are  above  the  merely 
local,  and  in  which  greater  efficiency  would  result  from  a  union 
of  our  resources  and  our  energies. 

These  details,  however,  must  be  left  to  the  development  of 
the  future.     In  the  mean  season,  as  our  confidence  in  its 


JEt.  54]  GROWTH  OF  THE  DIOCESE.  321 

largest  measure  in  the  Christian  integrity,  zeal,  and  judicious- 
ness of  our  brethren  who  have  charge  of  the  foreign  and  do- 
mestic missions  of  the  Church  is  undiminished,  I  recommend 
that  such  funds  as  may  have  been,  or  may  hereafter  be,  col- 
lected for  these  objects,  be  sent  forward  as  heretofore.  Such 
changes  as  may  be  convenient  will  be  made  as  events  pro- 
gress and  as  expediency  may  dictate. 
I  remain,  very  truly, 

Your  obedient  servant  in  Christ, 
Leonidas  Polk, 
Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  Diocese  of  Louisiana. 
New  Orleans,  March  28,  1861. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  when  the  bishop  was  thus 
occupied  with  the  vast  interests  of  the  university, 
pressed  with  the  anxieties  of  public  affairs,  and  engaged 
in  what  might  almost  be  called  a  public  controversy, 
the  ordinary  business  of  his  diocesan  work  would  be 
less  vigorously  prosecuted  than  in  former  years ;  but  it 
was  not  so.  The  record  shows  precisely  the  reverse. 
Polk  was  one  of  those  men  to  whom  the  increase  of 
labor  seems  to  lend  a  new  energy.  The  demands  made 
upon  him  operated  as  a  stimulus  to  his  finely  organized 
sanguine-nervous  temperament,  so  that  the  more  he  was 
required  to  do  the  more  easily  he  seemed  to  do  it.  The 
last  year  of  his  active  exercise  of  the  functions  of  the 
episcopate  was  the  most  happily  prosperous  and  promis- 
ing of  his  whole  life.  In  the  scattered  communities  of 
Louisiana  he  saw  in  that  one  year  no  less  than  five  new 
churches  built,  and  two  of  them  he  had  the  pleasure  of 
consecrating.  At  Bastrop  he  organized  a  new  and  self- 
supporting  congregation,  and  at  Dallas,  as  the  result  of 
one  vigorous  effort,  he  organized  a  congregation,  held 
an  election  of  the  vestry,  and  secured  the  means  for  the 


322  LAST  EPISCOPAL    VISITATION.  [1861 

erection  of  a  church  and  the  permanent  support  of  a 
rector.  At  the  annual  Diocesan  Convention  of  May, 
1861,  six  new  parishes  were  admitted.  The  number 
of  communicants  in  the  diocese  was  considerably  in- 
creased. The  confirmations  were  more  than  in  any  pre- 
vious year.  The  care  of  masters  for  their  servants 
showed  an  enlarged  and  enlightened  interest  in  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  slaves  which  was  most  encourag- 
ing, so  that  at  one  place  he  confirmed  ten,  at  another 
twenty-eight,  at  another  thirty-one,  and  at  another  forty- 
three  negroes.  But,  best  of  all,  the  impression  he  made 
by  his  force  of  character,  his  generous  spirit,  his  mascu- 
line gentleness,  his  broad  sympathies,  his  unremitting 
labors,  and  finally  by  his  scheme  of  the  university,  had 
attracted  to  him,  and  through  him  to  the  Church,  the 
affectionate  respect  of  the  whole  people  of  his  diocese. 
Wherever  he  went  on  his  last  visitation  he  received  a 
warm  welcome  from  men  of  all  ranks  and  of  all  reli- 
gious and  political  opinions;  and  as  he  records  in  his 
last  report  to  his  convention,  he  found  the  people  in 
the  northern  parishes  of  the  State  everywhere  looking 
kindly  to  the  Church,  and  assuring  him  of  their  desire 
to  have  its  services  established  among  them.  It  is  a 
happiness  to  all  who  loved  him  to  know  that  this  last 
year  in  which  he  was  to  be  permitted  to  minister  to  his 
people  in  his  exalted  office,  if  it  was  a  year  of  great  per- 
plexity and  constant  anxiety,  was  yet  perhaps  the  most 
encouraging  and  happy  year  of  his  episcopal  life,  and  in 
almost  every  respect  the  most  manifestly  fruitful. 

During  Bishop  Polk's  last  visitation,  which  continued 
from  the  beginning  of  February  to  the  end  of  April, 
1861,  his  family  had  been  placed  at  Sewanee,  in  a  rude 
but  comfortable  cottage  which  he  had  built  on  the  uni- 
versity domain,  and  as  the  course  of  events  made  it  from 


iEt.  55]  SECESSION  OF   VIRGINIA.  323 

day  to  day  more  probable  that  the  Federal  Government 
would  resist  the  secession  of  the  southern  States  by 
force  of  arms,  it  was  a  comfort  to  him  to  believe  that  in 
their  mountain  retreat  his  wife  and  children  would  be 
in  a  place  of  quiet  and  security,  whatever  might  betide. 
Two  letters  of  his,  written  toward  the  close  of  his  visi- 
tation, give  insight  into  his  own  state  of  mind  and  also 
into  the  general  condition  of  the  public  mind  of  the 
South  at  that  time. 

To  Mrs.  Polk. 

Trinity,  De  Soto,  La.,  April  21, 1861. 
My  dear  Wife:  You  see  I  am  thus  far  on  my  way  round 
my  diocese.  This  is  the  day  I  appointed  to  be  here.  God 
has  blessed  me  and  enabled  me  to  fill  all  my  appointments. 
I  have  been  to  Shreveport,  and  have  got  through  there.  I  am 
to  preach  here  this  morning  at  eleven  o'clock,  and  this  even- 
ing, at  candle-light,  in  Mansfield,  seventeen  miles  distant.  I 
am,  thank  God,  very  well.  I  wrote  to  Meek  and  to  Colonel 
Smith,  withdrawing  him  from  the  institute  and  directing  him 
to  repair  to  the  mountain,  and  stay  there  until  I  come  home. 
Now  that  the  attack  on  Fort  Sumter  has  taken  place,  I  am 
satisfied  that  we  shall  have  war,  and  that  we  shall  have  occa- 
sion for  the  services  of  all  the  young  men  of  the  South.  I 
am  also  satisfied  that  Virginia  must  now  come  in,  and  that 
Smith's  Corps  will  have  to  take  the  field.  If  so,  I  had  rather 
Meek  should  be  with  such  corps  than  some  one  of  the  many 
others  with  which  he  might  have  to  be  associated.  Love  to  all. 
Very  tenderly  yours, 

Leonidas  Polk. 

P.  S.    I  go  by  way  of  Monroe  and  Vicksburg  to  New  Or- 
leans.   Have  just  heard  tha.t  Virginia  has  seceded.    I  am  at 

the  house  of .    They  are  full  of  enthusiasm. 

Yours  truly  and  lovingly, 

L.P. 


324  WAR  INEVITABLE.  [1861 

To  Mrs.  Polk. 

New  Orleans,  April  26,  1861. 

My  beloved  Wife:  I  am  now  at  the  stock-landing,  on  the 
steamer  "  Hodge,"  which  is  putting  out  cattle.  I  found,  on 
my  return  to  Shreveport,  that  I  could  not  get  to  my  appoint- 
ment at  Minden  because  of  a  change  of  schedule  in  the  stages, 
and  so  had  to  give  it  up.  I  came,  therefore,  to  New  Orleans 
in  this  boat.  I  am  very  well,  and  had  a  good  time  to  rest 
and  sleep  on  the  boat,  so  that  I  feel  quite  refreshed  this 
morning.  ... 

The  whole  world  is  in  arms,  in  the  country  and  in  the 
town.  All  are  agreed  now.  There  are  not  two  parties  any 
more,  and  I  am  glad  to  see  that  we  are  at  last  to  have  the 
border  States.  Of  the  issue  I  have  no  doubt.  As  Tennessee 
is  now  aroused,  you  are,  of  course,  in  a  very  safe  and  secure 
place,  and  need  have  no  apprehension.  I  have  written  to 
Meek  to  stay  where  he  is.  He  is  better  there  under  Smith's 
command  than  he  would  be  elsewhere.  I  suppose  he  has 
written  to  you.  ...  I  have  not  time  to  add  more.  Love  to 
the  dear  girls. 

Very  truly  and  affectionately  yours, 

Leonidas  Polk. 

From  these  letters  it  is  evident  that  the  bishop  had 
ceased  to  cherish  the  hope  of  peaceable  secession  which 
most  other  men  at  the  South  had  entertained.  As 
he  had  written  to  Bishop  Potter,  it  was  not  possible 
for  a  good  man  to  be  otherwise  than  sorrowful  at  such 
a  wreck  of  "  the  most  magnificent  government  structure 
the  world  ever  saw."  But  since  the  war  was  now  clearly 
inevitable,  he  regarded  it  with  the  fortitude  of  a  soldier. 
He  held  it  to  be  on  the  part  of  the  South  a  war  of  sim- 
ple self-defense.  He  knew  that  no  war  can  be  waged 
without  great  suffering,  but  his  West  Point  training  had 
taught  him  to  think  of  war  not  as  a  thing  merely  of 
butchery  and  rapine,  but  of  fair  fight  in  open  field.     It 


Mt.  55]  POLK'S  HOUSE  BURNED.  325 

did  not  occur  to  him  that  a  conflict  between  Americans 
could  exhibit  itself  in  assaults  upon  defenseless  women 
and  children.  Under  any  circumstances,  he  supposed 
that  the  most  helpless  portion  of  the  human  race  would 
be  unmolested ;  and  in  their  secure  retreat  at  Sewanee, 
he  thought  that  his  family,  if  not  "  secure  from  war's 
alarms,"  would  surely  be  safe  from  its  dangers. 

This  confidence  was  destined  to  be  shattered  by  a 
horrible  surprise.  On  landing  at  New  Orleans,  the  very 
day  on  which  he  had  written  to  Mrs.  Polk  of  his  satis- 
faction in  the  assurance  of  her  safety  at  Sewanee,  he 
found  letters  from  her  telling  him  that  her  house  had 
been  burned  over  her  head  and  over  the  heads  of  her 
family  of  unprotected  daughters,  in  the  dead  of  night, 
and  manifestly  by  the  hand  of  an  incendiary.  For  a 
moment  the  shock  nearly  overpowered  him.  All  the 
whole  heart  of  the  man  and  of  the  father  swelled  in 
mingled  horror  and  disgust  at  the  cowardly  attempt 
to  assassinate  defenseless  women.  He  never  doubted 
that  the  outrage  was  prompted  by  political  animosity. 
From  that  day  forward  he  considered  the  war  against 
the  South  not  so  much  as  an  international  war  of 
aggression  and  conquest,  but  rather  as  a  war  of  spo- 
liation, incendiarism,  outrage,  and  assassination,  which 
every  man  who  recognized  the  first  law  of  nature  was 
bound  in  duty  to  resist  with  whatever  powers  of  head 
or  hand  he  had  received.  This  impression  was  indefi- 
nitely strengthened  by  a  letter  which  he  received  shortly 
afterward  from  a  northern  bishop,  now  dead,  whom  he 
had  esteemed  with  great  affection.  On  his  countenance 
one  might  see  from  time  to  time  the  play  of  every  best 
expression  that  belongs  to  human  emotion;  after  the 
reading  of  that  letter  it  wore  the  sublimity  of  righteous 
wrath. 


326  EFFECT  OF  THE  ATROCITY.  [1861 

Beyond  all  doubt  the  letter  of  Bishop  helped 

to  form  the  after-thoughts  and  to  influence  the  after- 
course  of  Bishop  Polk.  It  would  be  strange  if  it 
had  not  done  so.  The  reader  will  remember  how  he 
had  clung  to  his  belief  in  the  influence  of  the  Church 
to  mollify  the  rising  passions  of  the  sections.  Now 
that  the  fabric  of  the  Union,  as  he  believed,  had 
been  rent  in  twain  and  those  who  had  been  fellow- 
citizens  were  about  to  close  in  mortal  strife,  he  had  still 
looked  to  the  Church  to  mitigate  the  horrors  of  inevita- 
ble war.  And  here  there  came  to  him  a  sanctimonious 
exhortation  from  one  of  the  highest  ministers  of  the 
Church  itself,  warning  him  of  the  punishment  to  be 
awarded  to  the  wickedness  of  slavery — Mm  to  whom 
the  institution  of  slavery  had  been  a  life-long  burden ! 
— but  breathing  no  syllable  of  condemnation  against 
the  assassins  of  women  and  children !  To  Polk  it 
seemed  that  the  minds  even  of  churchmen  had  indeed 
"  given  way,"  since  the  utmost  atrocities  of  war — atroci- 
ties perpetrated  before  the  war  was  well  begun — could 
meet  with  at  least  the  approbation  to  be  inferred  from 
the  silence  of  a  bishop. 

The  following  letter  to  Mrs.  Polk  was  written  by  the 
bishop  in  the  first  shock  of  horror  after  hearing  of  the 
fire: 

New  Orleans,  April  27, 1861. 

My  beloved  Wife:  I  arrived  from  Shreveport  yesterday,  and 
found  your  letter  of  the  15th,  Lillie's  of  the  22d,  Sallie's  of  the 
18th,  and  yours  of  the  23d.  I  have  been  so  affected  by  your 
touching  recital  that  I  have  been  made  sick  at  heart.  Was 
there  ever  in  all  the  world  such  a  hellish  proceeding?  To  fire 
the  houses  of  two  such  utterly  lonely  and  defenseless  families, 
composed  of  women  only,  and  in  the  dead  of  the  night !  The 
spirit  of  hell  itself  was  never  more  exhibited;  and  that  both 
houses  were  fired  during  the  same  night  and  at  the  same 


Mt  55]  THE  BISHOP'S  DEMEAN  OB.  327 

moment  perhaps,  such  a  diabolical  spirit  and  heart  I  never 
before  heard  of.  How  I  should  have  liked  to  come  upon  the 
scoundrels  when  they  were  engaged  in  the  act !  I  am  satisfied 
that  it  was  the  work  of  an  incendiary,  and  that  it  was 
prompted  by  the  spirit  of  Black  Republican  hate.  I  cannot 
but  hope  and  believe  that  the  parties  will  be  discovered.  It 
was  only  yesterday  that  I  wrote  you  from  the  stock-landing 
and  congratulated  you  on  the  very  safe  retreat  from  the 
agitations  of  the  times  and  the  country  at  large.  How  little 
do  we  know,  and  how  little  did  I  think  you  were  then  suffer- 
ing from  having  had  your  house  burnt  over  your  head,  and 
that  your  life  and  the  lives  of  our  dear  children  had  been  put 
to  peril  by  such  villainy !  But  God  took  care  of  you  and  saved 
you  from  the  jaws  of  death.  For  this  I  hope  we  shall  never 
cease  to  be  thankful  and  praise  him.  I  thought  no  insurance 
had  been  effected,  and  was  surprised  to  hear  from  Mr.  Sloo, 
whom  I  met  on  the  street,  that  it  had  been  done.  For  this  we 
are  indebted,  my  beloved,  thoughtful  wife,  to  you ;  and  I  most 
heartily  thank  God  for  putting  it  in  your  mind.  The  policy  of 
the  insurance,  I  learned,  was  signed  just  before  the  Ire,  and 
the  dispatch  announcing  the  fire  was  received  on  the  return 
of  the  agent  from  the  post-office.  Well,  we  ought  to  be  thank- 
ful it  is  no  worse.  .  .  .  Leonidas  Polk. 

Cruelly  shocked  as  he  had  been,  it  is  not  to  be  sup- 
posed that  after  the  first  sharp  agony  was  over — and 
while  it  lasted  it  was  nothing  short  of  agony — the 
bishop  wore  his  heart  upon  his  sleeve  for  daws  to  peck 
at.  To  all  appearances  he  recovered  very  soon  from  all 
that,  and  nothing  in  his  language  or  demeanor  indicated 
the  intensity  of  his  feelings  or  the  rapid  growth  of  his 
convictions.  To  the  outward  eye  he  was  ever  the  same ; 
in  his  public  utterances  he  was  wholly  unchanged ;  in 
private  conversation  he  was  still  as  debonair  and  gra- 
ciously attractive  as  before  ;  in  his  order  of  business  he 
continued  to  follow  the  rule  of  his  life,  which  was  "  to 
do  the  thing  that  lay  next  him,"  going  on  his  ordinary 


328  ANNUAL   CONVENTION.  [1861 

way  without  change  of  his  ordinary  methods ;  and  yet 
there  is  reason  to  believe,  in  view  of  all  that  followed, 
that  it  was  then  that  he  entered  into  the  solitary  mental 
struggle  which  resulted  in  his  taking  arms  in  defense 
of  the  Confederacy.  Not  that  he  had  already  formed 
the  purpose  of  taking  arms,  or  had  even  distinctly  con- 
sidered it ;  least  of  all  that  he  had  allowed  himself  to  be 
controlled  by  any  feeling  of  passion ;  but  that  he  had 
been  thoroughly  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  the 
impending  war  would  be  a  war  of  moral  issues,  and  that 
it  would  be  waged  in  a  manner  so  frightful  that  no  man 
could  tell  what  his  duty  as  a  man  might  require  of  him. 
However  these  foreboding  questions  might  be  event- 
ually answered,  the  one  duty  which  lay  next  to  him  at 
that  time  was  the  direction  of  the  affairs  of  his  diocese. 
The  annual  convention  was  about  to  meet  at  St.  Francis- 
ville,  and  after  all  the  agitations  through  which  he  had 
passed,  he  wrote  his  convention  address  in  the  same  firm 
but  temperate  tone  in  which  his  previous  pastorals  had 
been  composed.  The  event  of  that  convention  had  been 
a  matter  of  some  concern  to  him ;  for  in  his  own  diocese, 
as  elsewhere,  the  positions  he  had  assumed  with  regard 
to  the  ecclesiastical  effect  of  secession  had  been  mis- 
understood by  some  and  were  admitted  with  reluctance 
by  others.  Especially  among  the  clergy  there  was  a 
desire  to  escape,  if  possible,  from  taking  any  positive 
action ;  but  the  proposal  of  Polk  and  Elliott  that  there 
should  be  a  conference  of  delegates  from  the  southern 
dioceses  at  Montgomery  in  the  month  of  July  could  by 
no  possibility  be  evaded.  At  one  time  the  bishop  would 
have  been  content  that  the  convention  should  waive  the 
merits  of  the  subject  and  simply  elect  delegates  to  the 
proposed  meeting.  It  was  pointed  out  to  him,  however, 
that  if  the  positions  he  had  assumed  were  not  really 


Mt.  55]  THE  BISHOP'S  ADDRESS.  329 

sound  positions,  the  diocese  ought  not  to  give  them  an 
apparent  support  by  an  election  which  would  be  inter- 
preted as  an  indorsement  of  the  grounds  on  which  it 
had  been  recommended ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that  if 
his  positions  were  really  well  taken,  he  had  a  right  to 
expect  his  diocese  to  sustain  him  boldly  and  unequivo- 
cally. It  was  therefore  resolved  that  the  subject  of  the 
bishop's  pastorals  should  be  brought  forward  on  its 
merits,  and  that  the  sense  of  the  convention  should  be 
taken  concerning  them.  In  point  of  fact,  as  the  issue 
proved,  there  was  no  serious  objection  to  the  bishop's 
views  when  they  were  properly  explained,  and  before 
the  convention  met  much  of  the  reluctance  to  acquiesce 
in  them  had  been  swept  away  by  the  course  of  public 
affairs. 

All  that  was  needed,  therefore,  was  that  the  status  of 
the  Church  in  consequence  of  secession  should  be  set 
forth  in  ecclesiastical  language  and  expounded  on  the 
common  principles  of  canon  law,  English  and  American. 
Immediately  after  the  opening  services  and  organization 
of  the  convention,  the  bishop  read  his  annual  address,1 
in  which  he  confined  himself  to  a  statement  of  his  offi- 
cial acts,  followed  by  a  masterly  vindication  of  his  action 
in  ordering  a  change  in  the  Prayer  for  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  a  reiteration  of  the  principles  he 
had  enunciated  in  his  pastorals.  He  still,  to  the  regret 
of  some  who  were  in  perfect  sympathy  with  him,  con- 
tinued to  use  the  inaccurate  phrase  of  "  diocesan  inde- 
pendence." Indeed,  he  went  apparently  much  further 
by  declaring  that  "  the  normal  condition  of  the  dioceses 
of  the  catholic  Church  is  that  of  separate  independence/7 
and  that  "  a  departure  from  that  condition  has  ever  been 

1  For  extracts  from  Bishop  Polk's  address,  see  Appendix  to  Chap- 
ter VII. 


330  THE   COMMITTEE'S  BEPOBT.  [1861 

the  fruit  of  expediency  only."  These  expressions  were 
unfortunate.  It  was  consequently  of  the  more  impor- 
tance that  the  action  of  his  diocesan  convention  should 
be  clearly  and  accurately  expressed. 

So  much  of  the  bishop's  address  as  referred  to  the 
position  of  the  diocese  in  consequence  of  secession  was 
specially  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the 
Church,  and  the  committee  was  appointed  with  reference 
to  this  part  of  the  business.  Among  its  members  were 
some  of  the  strongest  men  of  the  diocese.  The  four 
laymen  were  among  the  most  eminent  in  the  State,  and 
three  of  the  four  clergy  were  men  of  mature  age  and 
experience  as  well  as  of  recognized  ability.  In  their 
political  views  they  were  fairly  balanced,  for,  of  the 
whole  eight  members,  four  had  been  in  favor  of  uncon- 
ditional secession,  three  had  acted  with  the  party  of 
cooperation,  and  one  had  taken  neither  side  on  that 
subject. 

When  the  report  of  the  committee  was  brought  in  on 
the  second  day  of  the  convention,  the  greatest  anxiety 
was  felt  by  all  parties  •  for  it  was  all  but  certain  that  the 
report  of  such  a  committee  would  carry  the  suffrages  of 
a  large  majority  of  the  members  present.  The  result 
justified  the  expectation.  The  committee,  after  a  few 
words  in  which  they  called  attention  to  the  flourishing 
and  hopeful  condition  of  the  internal  affairs  of  the  dio- 
cese, proceeded  directly  to  the  consideration  of  the  eccle- 
siastical consequences  of  the  secession  of  the  State  from 
the  Federal  Union.  They  discussed  the  questions  at 
issue  calmly  and  dispassionately,  on  purely  historical 
and  canonical  grounds,  avoiding  the  bishop's  phrase  of 
"  diocesan  independence,"  except  in  one  instance,  in  which 
the  connection  sufficiently  defined  the  sense  in  which 
the  phrase  was  used.     The  scope  of  their  argument, 


2EL  55]  DR.  GOODRICH'S   VIEWS.  331 

however,  sustained  the  bishop's  positions  in  every  other 
particular.  The  only  part  of  the  report  which  exhibited 
any  warmth  at  all  was  that  in  which  they  expressed 
their  cordial  and  affectionate  regard  for  their  brother- 
churchmen  of  the  United  States  from  whom  they  be- 
lieved themselves  to  have  been  ecclesiastically  separated ; 
and  in  this  part  of  their  report  they  chose  to  use  the 
same  glowing  words  which  had  been  already  used  by 
the  bishop  in  his  first  pastoral  of  January  30,  1861. 
When  the  resolutions  of  the  committee  were  formally 
moved  for  adoption  there  was  almost  literally  no  oppo- 
sition. The  Rev.  Dr.  Goodrich,  rector  of  St.  Paul's,  New 
Orleans,  who  was  one  of  the  most  respected  and  beloved 
clergymen  in  the  diocese,  and  who  had  been  one  of  the 
most  reluctant  to  admit  that  the  ordinance  of  secession, 
or  any  other  act  of  secular  power,  could  effect  a  separa- 
tion between  the  dioceses  of  the  Church,  rose  in  his  place 
and  said  that  the  view  of  the  subject  which  had  been 
presented  by  the  committee  was  entirely  new  to  him; 
that  he  had  not  thought  of  considering  it  in  the  light 
in  which  it  had  been  considered  by  the  committee ;  and 
that  from  the  provisions  of  the  constitution  and  canons 
of  the  Church  which  had  been  cited  by  the  committee, 
it  now  appeared  that  the  separation  of  the  diocese  from 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States 
had  been  effected  not  by  the  direct  operation  of  the 
ordinance  of  secession,  but  by  the  operation  of  the  laws 
of  the  Church  itself,  which,  though  they  had  not  been 
made  with  that  particular  intention,  were  nevertheless 
of  such  force  as  to  effect  the  separation  in  such  circum- 
stances as  had  arisen.  It  was  impossible,  he  said,  to 
doubt  that  the  quotations  from  the  constitution  and 
canons  of  the  Church  which  the  committee  had  made 
could  have  been  made  otherwise  than  accurately  and 


332  ADOPTION   OF  THE  REPORT.  [1861 

with  perfect  fairness,  and  in  the  face  of  those  quotations 
he  was  not  prepared  to  deny  the  conclusions  at  which 
the  committee  had  arrived.  He  should  not,  therefore, 
oppose  the  adoption  of  the  resolutions  whicli  had  been 
submitted  to  the  convention. 

After  the  modest  and  temperate  speech  of  Dr.  Good- 
rich, one  clergyman  spoke  in  opposition  to  the  resolu- 
tions ;  the  committee  made  no  reply,  and  the  whole  series 
was  carried  with  hardly  a  dissenting  voice.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  the  reading  of  the  report  of  the  committee, 
the  bishop  sat  in  his  chair  with  an  aspect  of  studied 
composure,  but  to  one  who  knew  him  well  it  was  easy 
to  see  that  he  was  exceedingly  anxious.  Until  the  com- 
mittee entered  the  house  from  the  room  in  which  they 
had  been  deliberating,  he  had  received  no  intimation  of 
the  nature  of  their  report,  and  he  had  been  too  proud  to 
make  personal  inquiry  concerning  the  opinions  of  the 
several  members  of  the  convention.  He  would  have 
been  content  with  the  appointment  of  delegates  to  the 
convention  at  Montgomery, — that,  indeed,  was  all  that 
he  had  asked  in  his  address;  but  his  warm-hearted, 
affectionate  nature,  much  more  than  his  just  sense  of 
official  dignity,  had  led  him  to  desire  a  more  unequivocal 
indorsement  from  his  diocese  than  it  had  been  altogether 
certain  that  he  would  receive.  He  thought  himself  pre- 
pared for  either  event,  but  he  was  not  entirely  prepared 
for  the  elaborate  and  complete  vindication  presented  in 
the  report  of  the  committee;  and  when  their  proposi- 
tions were  successively  laid  down  with  a  force  of  argu- 
ment which,  to  say  the  least,  was  not  contemptible ;  when 
their  resolutions  were  read,  clearly  sustaining  him  on 
grounds  which  he  himself  had  not  fully,  if  at  all,  thought 
out;  when  all  dignified  opposition  was  gracefully  and 
graciously  withdrawn ;  and  when  his  convention  all  but 


Mt.  55]  A    CROWNING  HAPPINESS.  333 

unanimously  stood  by  him  and  sustained  him  before  the 
world  and  before  the  Church, —  then  his  deep  sense  of 
satisfaction  beamed  from  every  feature  of  his  noble 
countenance.  That  was  virtually  the  last  act  of  his  last 
convention,  for  the  remaining  business  was  merely 
formal.  It  was  the  crowning  happiness  of  the  most 
successful  year  of  his  episcopate.  It  was  not,  indeed,  an 
unmingled  joy,  for  it  came  as  an  alleviation  of  a  great 
sorrow;  but  such  as  it  was,  it  is  something  to  thank 
God  for  that  this,  the  last  act  of  his  last  convention,  was 
an  act  of  loving,  loyal  support.1 

A  few  words  of  comment  on  the  action  of  the  conven- 
tion of  the  diocese  of  Louisiana  can  hardly  be  out  of 
place  at  this  point.  Now  that  all  the  excitements  of  the 
time  have  long  passed  away,  it  seems  to  me,  in  the  light 
of  some  later  studies  in  ecclesiastical  history  and  canon 
law,  that,  so  far  as  the  canonical  argument  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  State  of  the  Church  goes,  I  should  be  pre- 
pared to  hold  a  brief  either  for  or  against  the  resolu- 
tions. That  there  is  force  in  the  argument  I  still  think, 
but  that  there  is  as  much  force  in  it  as  I  thought  then 
is  no  longer  clear  to  me.  I  find  some  serious  flaws  in  it 
which  a  dexterous  advocate  might  point  out  with  dam- 
aging effect.  In  the  historical  argument  I  find  no  fault 
at  all  j  it  now  seems  to  me  to  have  been  needlessly 
weakened  by  adding  to  it  the  more  questionable  theses 
which  were  founded  upon  canon  law.  As  good  lawyers 
say,  "  One  good  reason  is  better  than  two ; "  and  yet  it 
was  precisely  the  weaker  argument,  as  I  now  consider 
it,  which  carried  most  conviction  and  disarmed  most 
prejudice. 

Looking  at  the  action  of  the  diocese  of  Louisiana  as 

l  For  report  of  committee,  see  Appendix  to  Chapter  VII. 


334  POLK'S  POSITION   SUSTAINED.  [1861 

a  whole,  I  regard  it  as  right  in  itself  under  the  existing 
circumstances,  and,  with  reference  to  its  results,  as  a 
cause  of  unbounded  thankfulness.  But  for  the  calling 
of  the  convention  of  the  bishops  and  delegates  of  the 
southern  dioceses  at  Montgomery  by  the  bishops  of 
Louisiana  and  Georgia,  those  dioceses  might  have  re- 
mained without  organization  throughout  the  whole 
period  of  the  war;  and  but  for  the  strong  support 
given  to  those  two  bishops  by  their  diocesan  conven- 
tions, the  convention  at  Montgomery  would  probably 
not  have  been  held.  If  the  southern  dioceses  had  been 
compelled,  during  the  excitements  of  those  frightful 
years,  to  remain  in  the  condition  of  virtual  independence, 
many  deplorable  irregularities  would  probably  have 
occurred,  and  it  is  morally  certain  that  the  happy  re- 
union of  our  whole  Church,  which  followed  instantly 
after  the  close  of  the  war,  would  not,  and  could  not,  have 
taken  place  with  the  fraternally  instinctive  spontaneity 
which  was,  and  will  remain,  a  crown  of  glory  to  both 
sections  of  the  Church.  I  hold,  therefore,  paradoxical 
as  it  may  appear,  that  the  greatest  service  which  Bishop 
Polk  ever  rendered  to  the  Church,  which  he  would  have 
gladly  died  to  serve,  was  his  declaration  that,  without  a 
breach  of  the  essential  unity  of  the  Church,  and  without 
the  least  breach  of  reciprocal  affection,  the  bond  of  pro- 
vincial union  between  the  southern  and  the  northern 
dioceses  had  been  effectually  sundered.  And  if  one  may 
reasonably  consider  not  only  what  has  happened,  but 
what  might  have  happened,  the  impression  of  the  wis- 
dom and  far-sighted  charity  of  Bishop  Polk  admits  of 
no  dispute.  No  one  can  look  back  upon  the  events  of 
the  war  between  the  States  and  say  that  the  success  of 
the  Confederacy  was  an  impossibility.  If  the  Confeder- 
acy had  succeeded,  there  would  never  have  been  any 


Mt.  55]  WISDOM   OF  POLK'S  CO U USE.  335 

question;  either  at  the  North  or  at  the  South,  of  the 
soundness  of  the  views  which  Polk  had  set  forth  con- 
cerning the  ecclesiastical  effect  of  an  ordinance  of  seces- 
sion ;  but  the  terms  of  brotherly  love  in  which  he  had 
testified  that  the  southern  Church  had  no  cause  of  griev- 
ance against  her  northern  sister  would,  in  all  human 
probability,  have  smoothed  the  way  for  a  reunion  of 
the  two  bodies  in  all  matters  not  pertaining  to  the 
administration  of  their  local  affairs.  And  then — who 
knows  ? — the  influence  of  the  Church  might  have  availed 
to  suggest,  and  perhaps  to  bring  about,  a  political  re- 
union of  the  two  alienated  sections  of  the  country. 
These  may  be  idle  dreams  now,  but  they  might  well  have 
been  realities,  and  whatever  we  may  think  about  them 
now,  the  fact  is  apparent  that,  in  either  event,  the  wise 
leading  of  Polk  had  prepared  the  way  for  the  ultimate 
furtherance  of  the  best  interests  of  the  Church. 

John  Fulton. 


APPENDIX  TO   CHAPTER  VII. 

Extracts  prom  Bishop  Polk's  Address  to  the  Annual 

Convention  op  the  Diocese  op  Louisiana,  at 

Grace  Church,  St.  Francisville,  1861. 

On  the  26th  of  January,  the  State  of  Louisiana,  in  the  exer- 
cise of  her  indefeasible  right,  severed  her  connection  with  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  resumed  the  powers  of 
which  she  had  divested  herself,  and  became  a  separate  and 
independent  sovereignty.  This  act  carried  with  it  the  alle- 
giance of  her  citizens.  Their  supreme  government  ceased  to 
be  that  of  the  United  States,  and  became  that  of  the  State  of 
Louisiana,  to  which  alone  they  owed  a  paramount  fealty,  and 
all  the  duties  growing  out  of  such  a  relationship.  This  change 
of  allegiance  churchmen  shared  in  common  with  others,  and 
it  became  their  duty  promptly  to  demonstrate  their  recogni- 
tion of  that  change,  in  the  forms  in  which  the  Founder  of 
our  holy  religion  required  his  followers  to  recognize  de  facto 
governments.  In  the  affair  of  the  tribute -money,  he  lays 
down  the  doctrine  that  such  governments  have  a  right  to 
claim  from  their  citizens  or  subjects  the  support  necessary  for 
their  effective  maintenance, — a  right  founded  on  the  fact  that 
the  State,  as  well  as  the  Church,  is  a  divine  institution,  under 
whatever  form  of  organization  it  may  be  presented.  In  the 
administration  of  divine  providence,  the  Ruler  of  the  universe 
casteth  down  one  and  putteth  up  another,  choosing  for  him- 
self the  instruments  best  adapted  to  effect  his  ends.  So  that, 
whether  it  be  Sanhedrim  or  Caesar,  "the  powers  that  be  are 
ordained  of  God."  They  are  to  be  supported  not  only  with 
material  aid  and  personal  services,  but  by  supplications  and 
prayers.    Hence  arises  the  duty  of  a  Church,  on  the  occur- 

336 


APPENDIX  TO   CHAPTER  VII.  337 

rence  of  any  established  change  of  government,  to  alter  her 
formularies  so  as  to  make  them  conform  to  the  new  condition 
of  things.  It  was  clear,  therefore,  in  the  circumstances  in 
which  we  were  placed,  that  an  alteration  in  the  services  of 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  after  the  separation  of  Louisi- 
ana from  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  was  indispen- 
sable. It  was  an  alteration  forced  by  the  necessity  of  obedi- 
ence to  the  law  of  Christ  himself.  This  was  felt  by  the 
clergy  and  laity  of  the  diocese  generally,  not  less  than  by 
myself.  But,  under  the  constitution  and  canons  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States,  there 
existed  no  authority  accessible  to  us  competent  to  meet  the 
emergency.  Section  14,  Canon  13,  Title  I,  it  is  true,  gives  to 
the  bishop  of  each  diocese  authority  "  to  compose  forms  of 
prayer,  as  the  case  may  require  for  extraordinary  occasions  "  j 
and  under  its  provisions  I  set  forth,  for  the  national  fast,  the 
form  appended  to  my  pastoral  letter  of  December  28th.  The 
case  now  presented  is  altogether  different.  It  called  for  an 
alteration  in  the  matter  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  it- 
self, a  prerogative  withheld  from  the  bishops,  because  ex- 
pressly surrendered  by  them  and  their  diocesan  conventions 
at  the  time  they  adopted  the  constitution.  This  power  is 
vested  in  the  general  convention  alone.  In  the  Eighth  Article 
of  the  constitution  of  the  national  Church,  it  is  provided 
that  u  no  alteration  or  addition  shall  be  made  in  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer,  unless  the  same  shall  be  proposed  in  one 
general  convention,  and,  by  a  resolve  thereof,  made  known 
to  the  convention  of  every  diocese,  and  adopted  at  the  sub- 
sequent general  convention."  The  delay  involved  in  an  effort 
to  comply  with  this  provision,  even  supposing  that,  when  it 
was  allowed,  it  would  have  met  the  case,  was  manifestly  for- 
bidden by  the  pressing  nature  of  the  emergency.  What,  then, 
was  to  be  done?  A  conflict  now  arose  between  the  duty 
which  we,  as  a  diocese,  owed  to  the  provisions  of  a  constitu- 
tion which  bound  us  to  pray  for  the  rulers  of  one  govern- 
ment, and  the  duty  which  we  owed  to  the  law  of  Christ 
himself  which  required  us  to  pray  for  those  of  another.  In 
such  a  case,  the  latter  must,  of  necessity,  prevail,  though  it  be 


338  APPENDIX  TO   CHAPTER  VII. 

at  the  expense  of  the  overthrow  of  the  constitution  whose 
provisions  we  should  be  forced  thus  deliberately  to  repudiate. 
It  has  prevailed.  And  although  we  have  not,  as  a  diocese, 
in  our  assembled  capacity,  pronounced  upon  and  avowed 
this  repudiation,  yet  we  have  done  so  in  effect.  My  view  of 
the  duties  of  my  office,  under  those  circumstances,  required 
me  to  address  to  you  my  pastoral  letter  of  the  30th  of  Janu- 
ary, setting  forth  and  directing  certain  alterations  in  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer ;  and  your  view  of  the  duties  of 
yours  authorized  you  to  accept  and  use  those  alterations  in 
the  public  services  of  the  Church.  Of  the  propriety  and  duty 
of  the  course  we  have  pursued  in  this  matter,  notwithstand- 
ing the  effect  of  our  action  on  our  relations,  under  the  con- 
stitution, to  the  Church  in  the  United  States,  I  have  riot  a 
doubt,  nor  can  the  reasoning  which  has  led  us  to  our  present 
position  be  successfully  controverted. 

There  was  a  time  in  the  history  of  the  Church  in  Louisiana 
when  it  was  not  under  the  authority  of  the  constitution  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  when  there  was  no  constitutional  union  exist- 
ing between  it  and  the  dioceses  in  the  United  States.  The 
Fifth  Article  of  the  constitution  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  provides  for  the  admission  of 
dioceses  not  in  the  Union  on  their  agreeing  to  accede  to  that 
instrument ;  and  the  diocese  of  Louisiana,  having  embodied 
the  required  stipulation  in  the  First  Article  of  her  constitution, 
was  admitted  on  application. 

In  accepting  the  constitutional  connection  which  was  thus 
established,  our  diocese  did  not  intend  to  impose  upon  herself 
impossible  obligations  which  in  any  future  contingency  would 
conflict  with  her  duties  to  Christ.  There  are  duties  and 
rights  which,  in  the  case  of  communities,  as  of  individual 
Christians,  are  inalienable,  and  which,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
must  always  be  reserved.  In  the  case  under  consideration, 
the  duty  we  have  performed,  and  the  right  to  perform  it,  are 
of  that  character ;  and  to  discharge  the  former  we  have  been 
obliged  to  resume  the  latter.  And  thus,  having  the  exercise 
of  our  original  powers  remitted  to  us,  we  have  been  forced, 


APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER   VII.  339 

whether  we  would  or  not,  into  the  position  of  diocesan 
independence. 

It  will  be  perceived,  then,  that  our  ecclesiastical  position 
results  from  the  political  action  of  the  State  of  Louisiana  in 
separating  herself  from  the  Federal  Government  of  the  United 
States,  and  from  the  effect  of  that  action  on  the  provisions  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States.  Not  that  it  has  been  accomplished  by  any  act 
of  the  legislature  of  the  State  in  an  attempt  to  exercise  direct 
civil  control  over  the  political  or  ecclesiastical  relations  of  the 
Church.  To  such  influences  the  Church  in  this  country  is 
happily  in  no  wise  subject. 

But  while  the  Church  is  entirely  free  from  interference  on 
the  part  of  the  State,  she  is,  nevertheless,  not  exempt  from  the 
consequences  of  the  action  of  the  State  on  her  present  atti- 
tude in  Louisiana.  She  assumes  what  her  duty  to  her  Lord 
requires  her  to  assume, — that,  though  she  be  compelled  to  set 
aside  her  obligations  to  her  ecclesiastical  constitution  in  the 
United  States  of  America,  she  must  follow  her  nationality. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  a  written  constitution,  such 
as  that  which  binds  the  dioceses  of  the  United  States  together, 
is  a  novelty  in  the  Church,  no  other  instance  of  the  kind  being 
known  to  her  history.  It  was  adopted  in  imitation  of  the 
action  of  the  States  within  whose  boundaries  our  dioceses  lay. 
It  was  a  measure  of  expedience,  and,  for  all  the  purposes  it 
was  competent  to  serve,  a  wise  one.  But  it  was  not  a  neces- 
sary condition  of  the  Church's  unity.  It  served  the  purpose 
of  binding  the  dioceses  in  a  union  of  amity,  and  promoted 
their  efficiency  as  propagandists  of  the  faith  on  this  continent 
and  elsewhere.  It  thus  accomplished  a  holy  mission.  And 
while  we,  with  hearts  filled  with  sorrow,  lament  the  uprising 
of  the  influences  which  have  checked  it  in  its  blessed  work, 
we  yet  cannot  allow  that  its  presence  or  its  absence  is  material 
to  the  unity  of  the  Church.  The  destruction  of  this  constitu- 
tional bond,  while  it  may  be  lamented,  carries  not  with  it  the 
destruction  of  the  oneness  of  the  body  of  Christ  j  the  elements 
of  which  that  consists  are  of  a  higher  and  more  enduring 
nature. 


340  APPENDIX  TO   CHAPTER   VII. 

Of  the  support  we  shall  find  in  the  history  of  the  Church 
universal  in  its  first  and  present  ages  for  the  action  of  our 
diocese  in  accepting  and  maintaining,  if  need  be,  an  independ- 
ent position,  it  is  not  necessary  here  to  speak.  The  normal 
condition  of  the  dioceses  of  the  Catholic  Church  is  that  of 
separate  independence.  A  departure  from  that  condition  has 
ever  been  the  fruit  of  expediency  only. 

Under  the  promptings  of  this  expediency,  I  have,  as  the 
senior  bishop  of  the  dioceses  in  the  Confederate  States,  in  con- 
junction with  the  Bishop  of  Georgia,  next  in  seniority,  ven- 
tured to  address  a  circular  to  our  brother  bishops  in  the 
Confederate  States,  to  be  by  them  laid  before  their  respect- 
ive conventions,  inviting  them  to  unite  in  a  convention  to  be 
held  in  Montgomery,  Ala.,  on  the  3d  of  July  next;  the  con- 
vention, when  held,  to  be  composed  of  the  bishops  of  the 
several  dioceses  in  these  States,  and  of  three  clerical  and  three 
lay  delegates.  The  object  of  this  convention  is  to  consult 
upon  such  matters  of  interest  to  the  Church  as  have  arisen  out 
of  the  changes  in  our  civil  affairs,  with  the  view  of  securing 
uniformity  and  harmony  of  action. 

I  have  heard  from  several  of  the  dioceses,  and  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  the  measure  will  meet  with  general 
favor.  A  letter  just  received  by  me  from  the  Bishop  of  Texas 
informs  me  that  his  diocese,  at  its  late  convention,  accepted 
the  invitation  and  elected  the  requisite  delegates. 

I  have  now  respectfully  to  submit  to  you,  my  brethren,  the 
proposal  to  unite  on  this  measure.  It  cannot  but  be  regarded 
as  one  of  prudence  and  wisdom.  And  I  humbly  trust  it  may 
lead  to  such  action  as  may  secure  to  us  all  the  freedom 
necessary  to  diocesan  efficiency  and  all  the  union  which  is 
demanded  for  the  wisest  application  of  our  energies  and 
resources. 


APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER   VII.  341 

REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  THE   STATE 
OF  THE   CHURCH. 

The  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church  beg  respectfully 
to  report  that  there  is  great  cause  for  gratitude  to  Almighty 
God  for  the  continued  prosperity  of  the  Church  in  this  dio- 
cese. The  large  number  of  new  parishes  admitted  into  union 
with  the  present  convention,  and  the  number  of  confirma- 
tions, greater  by  one  third  than  in  any  previous  year,  are 
evident  proofs  that  the  hand  of  God  is  with  us,  and  that  the 
cause  of  Zion  is  prospering  within  our  borders. 

But  the  shortness  of  the  time  allowed,  and  the  importance 
of  the  matters  falling  under  their  consideration,  compel 
the  committee  to  dismiss  with  these  remarks  the  subjects 
commonly  embraced  in  the  report  they  are  required  to 
make,  and  which  in  general  relate  exclusively  to  the  internal 
operations  of  the  Church.  The  state  of  the  Church  implies 
as  well  the  state  of  her  relations  to  the  Church  at  large  as 
the  condition  of  her  ordinary  operations.  Therefore  the  com- 
mittee feel  themselves  obliged  to  lay  formally  before  the  con- 
vention what  they  conceive  to  be  the  true  relation  to  the 
whole  body  of  Christ's  Church  Catholic,  and  particularly  to 
that  branch  of  it  to  which  we  lately  belonged — the  Protes- 
tant Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America  — 
a  duty  which  is  forced  upon  us  by  the  fact  that  Louisiana 
has  within  the  last  year  separated  from  the  nationality  of 
which  she  previously  formed  a  part,  and  has  joined  with 
other  sovereign  States  in  forming  a  new  nation,  to  which 
she  and  we,  her  citizens,  to-day  owe  our  allegiance.  The 
simple  question  which  we  have  to  meet  is,  whether  any 
change  in  our  relations,  as  a  Church,  to  the  Church  in  the 
United  States  is,  or  of  right  ought  to  be,  involved  in  the 
change  of  national  relations  which  has  taken  place.  In  an- 
swering this  question,  the  committee  ask  to  be  indulged  in 
stating  briefly  the  reasons  which  have  prevailed  in  bringing 
them  to  the  conclusion  they  feel  bound  to  lay  before  the 
convention.    A  brief  synoptical  form  will  probably  be  found 


342  APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER   VII. 

the  best,  as  the  deficiencies  in  mere  detail  can  readily  be 
supplied  by  the  learning  of  the  members  of  the  convention. 

1.  The  diocese  of  Louisiana,  like  every  other  diocese, 
is  an  integral  portion  of  the  One  Catholic  and  Apostolic 
Church,  in  the  unity  of  which  she  cannot  cease  to  be  em- 
braced but  by  lapsing  into  heresy  or  schism ;  for  the  unity 
of  the  Catholic  Church  is  unity  in  true  faith  and  apostolic 
order.  Holding  the  Catholic  faith,  and  having  an  apostolic 
ministry  rightly  and  duly  administering  Christ's  holy  sacra- 
ments, this  diocese  possesses  all  that  is  essential  to  her  being 
as  a  true  and  valid  member  of  the  One  Church  Catholic  and 
Apostolic.  With  these  she  would  have  been  truly  in  the 
unity  of  the  Church,  though  she  had  never  been  conjoined 
with  any  other  dioceses  in  a  union  such  as  that  which  forms 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of 
America  j  and  having  these,  though  in  the  matter  of  her 
government  she  should  by  circumstances  be  dissevered  from 
every  other  diocese,  her  catholicity  must  still  be  perfect,  and 
the  Church's  unity  in  her  regard  unbroken.  Acknowledging 
"  One  Lord,  One  Faith,  One  Baptism"  with  the  Universal 
Church,  there  is  between  her  and  all  other  churches  "unity 
of  spirit"  in  the  apostolic  "bond  of  peace."  This  unity  no 
mere  political  or  national  disturbances  or  revolutions  can 
destroy,  and  this  bond  cannot  be  impaired  by  any  changes 
among  States  or  Nations. 

2.  Unions  among  churches  are  altogether  different  from 
the  unity  of  the  Church.  The  unity  of  the  Church  is  unity 
in  believing  and  doing  all  that  God  has  taught,  and  there- 
fore, as  a  matter  of  divine  precept,  is  eternal  in  its  obli- 
gation ;  while  unions  of  churches  are  voluntary  combinations 
for  purposes  of  practical  expediency,  and  therefore  may 
be  changed  whenever  sound  expediency  requires  that  they 
should  be  dissolved. 

3.  And  it  does  not  appear  that  in  the  days  of  the  apostles, 
or  for  some  time  afterward,  any  combinations  between  dio- 
ceses were  formed.  It  does  not  appear  that  under  apostolic 
direction  Ephesus — with  its  Bishop  Timothy  —  or  Crete  —  with 
its  Bishop  Titus — was  formally  conjoined  with  any  other 


APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER   VII.  343 

dioceses.  On  the  contrary,  it  appears,  from  the  tenor  of 
Holy  Scripture  and  the  testimony  of  ancient  authors,  that 
every  diocese  was  originally  independent  of  every  other. 

4.  When,  for  reasons  of  expediency,  unions  among  dio- 
ceses were  entered  into,  it  was  by  free  consent  among  the 
parties  to  them.  Considerations  of  convenience  required  them 
to  be  limited  in  their  extent  j  and,  at  first  of  choice,  after- 
ward by  the  decrees  of  councils,  they  were  made  coextensive 
with  the  divisions  of  the  empire  which  had  been  established 
by  the  civil  power.  In  every  province  the  senior  bishop  or 
the  senior  Church  was  allowed  a  certain  precedence  over  the 
others,  and  out  of  this  grew  first  the  metropolitical  and  after- 
ward the  patriarchal  arrangements  of  the  Church. 

5.  At  the  disruption  of  the  Roman  Empire,  the  provincial 
distribution  of  the  Church  was  merged  into  the  national. 
Bishops  and  dioceses  in  every  nation,  being  drawn  together 
by  the  influence  of  national  affinity,  combined  for  the  common 
benefit,  and  chiefly  for  the  sake  of  liturgical  uniformity,  in 
forming  churches  conterminous  in  jurisdiction  with  the  na- 
tions to  which  they  owed  temporal  allegiance. 

6.  It  was  with  the  element  of  nationality  in  churches  that 
the  papacy  had  most  to  contend,  and  side  by  side  with  the 
suppression  of  this  principle  we  find  the  constant  growth  of 
papal  usurpations  and  corruptions. 

7.  It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  the  Church,  when  re- 
formed, should  resume  that  of  which  Rome  had  robbed  her ; 
and  the  fact  is  that  the  articles  and  canons  of  our  mother 
Church  of  England  show  her  to  be  intensely  national.  Her 
Articles  of  Subscription  are  such  that  she  requires  her  clergy 
to  deny  the  existence  in  any  foreigner  of  any  power  or  au- 
thority, ecclesiastical  or  spiritual,  within  the  realm  of  Eng- 
land or  any  of  her  dependencies. 

8.  Hence  the  clergy  of  the  United  States  after  the  Revolu- 
tion, having  ceased  to  be  subjects  of  the  crown,  ceased  also  to 
be  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England ;  so  that  the  independ- 
ence of  the  churches  in  the  colonies  was  of  necessity  included 
in  the  independence  of  the  colonies  themselves. 

9.  As  was  to  be  expected,  the  churches  of  the  United  States, 


344  APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER   VII. 

and  the  dioceses  into  which  they  were  distributed,  combined 
to  form  a  Church  as  strictly  national  as  that  of  England. 
After  a  careful  study  of  her  constitution  and  canons,  this 
committee  cannot  forbear  arriving  at  the  determinate  con- 
clusion that  they  are  of  such  a  nature  as  to  exclude  from  her 
any  diocese  whose  territory  may  have  ceased  to  be  a  portion 
of  the  United  States. 

(a)  Her  corporate  style  and  designation  is  such  as  clearly  to 
define  her  territorial  limits.  She  is  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  op  America.  Her  boundaries 
are  those  of  the  United  States,  beyond  which  she  does  not 
seek  to  include  any  other  churches  whatsoever. 

(b)  By  the  Fifth  Article  of  her  constitution,  the  implication 
involved  in  her  corporate  designation  is  defined  in  terms.  By 
that  article  the  admission  of  dioceses  into  union  with  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America 
is  limited  to  dioceses  formed,  or  to  be  formed,  within  the 
States  or  Territories  of  that  country;  so  that  none  can  con- 
stitutionally be  admitted  which  do  not  lie  territorially  within 
her  boundaries.  It  is  evident  that  that  which  is  an  indispen- 
sable condition  of  admission  to  union  with  her,  must  be  indis- 
pensable to  continuance  in  that  union.  Consequently,  when 
the  State  in  which  our  diocese  is  situated  ceased  to  form  a 
part  of  the  United  States,  that  condition  failing  on  our  part, 
we  ceased,  ipso  facto,  to  retain  that  formal  union  with  her  of 
which  territorial  position  within  the  United  States  is  an  in- 
dispensable condition.  Had  the  Church  in  Florida,  Louisiana, 
or  Texas  been  as  perfectly  formed  and  furnished  as  at  pres- 
ent, they  could  not,  previously  to  the  annexation  of  those 
States  to  the  United  States,  have  been  admitted,  under  this 
article,  to  union  with  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States.  They  were  admitted,  because,  at  the  time  of 
their  application,  those  States  lay  within  the  boundaries  of 
the  United  States.  Having  now  ceased  to  belong  to  the 
United  States,  a  fair  construction  of  the  article  requires  us 
to  hold  them  removed  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States. 

(c)  But  had  any  doubt  been  possible  under  Article  Fifth 


APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER   VII.  345 

of  the  constitution,  that  doubt  would  be  removed  by  the 
express  terms  of  Article  Tenth.  The  Confederate  States 
of  America  form  a  country  foreign  to  the  United  States,  and 
on  failure  of  the  episcopate  in  any  of  them,  were  we  to  look 
to  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  for 
its  continuance,  the  facts  of  the  case  would  require  applica- 
tion to  be  made,  not  in  the  manner  heretofore  open  to  us, 
but  as  is  required  by  Article  Tenth  of  the  constitution,  in 
which  special  provision  is  made  for  the  consecration  of 
bishops,  not  for  foreign  churches,  but  for  foreign  countries. 
By  this  article  such  bishops  so  consecrated  would  not  be 
eligible  to  the  office  of  diocesan  or  assistant  bishop  in  any 
diocese  of  the  United  States,  nor  entitled  to  a  seat  in  the 
House  of  Bishops,  nor  could  they  lawfully  exercise  any  epis- 
copal authority  in  those  States.  In  other  words,  as  bishops 
of  a  foreign  country,  they  could  not  be,  nor  become,  bishops 
of  the  United  States, — a  constitutional  provision  evidently 
reaching  to  bishops  now  in  this  position  as  well  as  to  those 
who  might  thus,  by  possibility,  be  placed  in  it.  Our  bishops 
are  now  bishops  of  a  country  foreign  to  the  United  States, 
and  cannot,  therefore,  by  her  own  constitution,  be  any  longer 
regarded  as  bishops  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  United  States. 

(d)  If  anything  were  yet  wanting  to  confirm  the  view  that 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  is  most 
distinctively  and  strictly  national,  it  might  be  fully  supplied 
from  the  canon  law  of  the  Church  with  respect  to  foreign 
and  domestic  missionary  bishops.  (See  Title  I,  Canon  13, 
Section  7,  Clauses  1  and  5;  also  Section  8,  Clauses  1  and 
2,  of  the  same  canon.)  The  domestic  missionary  bishop 
whose  jurisdiction  lies  within  the  States  or  Territories  of  the 
United  States  is  entitled  to  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Bishops, 
from  which  the  foreign  missionary  bishop  is  excluded.  The 
former,  moreover,  is  eligible  to  the  episcopate  of  a  vacant 
diocese  in  the  United  States ;  the  latter  is  ineligible  but  with 
the  consent  of  three  fourths  of  the  bishops,  clergy,  and  laity 
of  the  Church  in  general  convention  assembled.  Thus  of 
two  bishops  elected  and  consecrated  in  the  same  way  and  by 


346  APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER   VII. 

the  same  parties,  and  governed  by  the  canons  of  the  same 
convention,  the  one,  because  his  jurisdiction  lies  within  the 
United  States,  is  invested  with  the  right  of  voice  and  vote 
in  the  convention  by  which  he  is  governed,  besides  other 
important  privileges  from  which  the  other  is  excluded,  for  no 
other  reason  than  that  he  is  called  to  exercise  his  functions  in 
a  foreign  land. 

From  all  these  considerations,  and  others  too  numerous  to 
be  embraced  in  the  limits  of  this  report,  the  committee  feel 
themselves  compelled  to  the  conclusion  that,  whereas  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America 
is,  and  was  rightly  intended  to  be,  a  strictly  national  body, 
into  which  the  diocese  of  Louisiana  was  admitted  because  at 
the  time  of  her  admission  the  State  of  Louisiana  formed 
a  portion  of  the  United  States;  and  whereas  Louisiana  has 
dissolved  the  union  formerly  existing  between  her  and  the 
United  States,  and  so  has  separated  from  that  nation,  there- 
fore the  diocese  of  Louisiana  has  ceased  to  belong  to  the 
national  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of 
America.  And  whereas  the  State  of  Louisiana  has  entered 
into  a  new  confederacy,  and  is  now  part  of  a  new  nation, 
therefore  as  the  highest  expediency  has,  from  very  early 
times,  prompted  such  confederations  among  adjacent  dio- 
ceses of  the  Catholic  Church  as  might  advance  the  common 
welfare;  and  as  nature  and  experience,  no  less  than  the  high- 
est prudence,  teach  that  such  confederations  should  be  na- 
tional, like  that  in  the  United  States,  therefore  this  diocese, 
in  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  ought,  in  the  exercise  of 
that  liberty  wherewith  Christ  hath  made  us  free,  to  take  such 
steps  as  may  be  necessary  to  the  formation  of  a  national 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Confederate  States  of 
America. 

It  is  needless,  after  what  has  been  previously  said,  that 
the  committee  should  declare  that  so  far  as  Louisiana  is 
concerned,  the  unity  of  the  Church  is  unbroken;  nor  need 
the  committee  frame  new  words  to  express  the  never-failing 
love  which  every  member  of  this  diocese  must  always  have 
for  our  brethren  of  the  Church  in  the  United  States.    We 


APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER  VII.  347 

prefer,  in  this  connection,  to  adopt  the  words  of  our  Right 
Reverend  Father,  as  we  find  them  in  his  pastoral  letters. 
They  represent  the  cherished  sentiments  of  every  churchman 
in  the  diocese : 

u  It  is  our  happiness  to  know  that  in  canvassing  the  sum  of 
the  political  grievances  of  which  we  have  complained,  we  find 
no  contribution  made  to  it  by  brethren  of  our  own  household. 
Our  Church  in  the  non-slaveholding  States,  as  everywhere, 
has  been  loyal  to  the  constitution  and  the  laws.  Her  sound 
conservative  teaching  and  her  well-ordered  organization  have 
held  her  steadily  to  her  proper  work,  and  she  has  confined 
herself  simply  to  preaching  and  teaching  the  gospel  of  Christ. 
Surrounded  by  a  strong  pressure  on  every  side,  she  has  suc- 
cessfully resisted  its  power,  and  has  refused  to  lend  the  aid 
of  her  conventions,  her  pulpits,  and  her  presses  to  the  radical 
and  unscriptural  propagandism  which  has  so  degraded  Chris- 
tianity and  plunged  our  country  into  its  unhappy  condition. 

"  In  withdrawing  ourselves,  therefore,  from  all  political  con- 
nection with  the  union  to  which  our  brethren  belong,  we  do 
so  with  hearts  filled  with  sorrow  at  the  prospect  of  its  forcing 
a  termination  of  our  ecclesiastical  connection  with  them  also, 
and  that  we  shall  be  separated  from  those  whose  intelligence, 
patriotism,  Christian  integrity  and  piety  we  have  long  known, 
and  for  whom  we  entertain  sincere  respect  and  affection. 

"  Our  separation  from  our  brethren  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  in  the  United  States  has  been  effected  because 
we  must  follow  our  nationality.  Not  because  there  has  been 
any  difference  of  opinion  as  to  Christian  doctrine  or  catholic 
usage.  Upon  these  points  we  are  still  one.  With  us  it  is  a 
separation,  not  division,  certainly  not  alienation.  And  there 
is  no  reason  why,  if  we  should  find  the  union  of  our  dioceses 
under  one  national  Church  impracticable,  we  should  cease 
to  feel  for  each  other  the  respect  and  regard  with  which 
purity  of  manners,  high  principle,  and  a  manly  devotion 
to  truth  never  fail  to  inspire  generous  minds." 

It  remains,  then,  only  that  the  committee  should  present 
this  most  important  subject  for  the  action  of  the  convention 
in  the  form  of  resolutions. 


348  APPENDIX  TO   CHAPTER   VII. 


RESOLUTIONS. 

WJiereas,  The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America  is,  and  was  rightly  intended  to  be,  a 
strictly  national  body,  not  admitting  into  union  with  it  dio- 
ceses situated  in  foreign  countries ; 

And  whereas,  The  State  of  Louisiana  has  by  ordinance  dis- 
solved the  union  formerly  existing  between  it  and  the  United 
States  of  America,  thereby  making  the  State  of  Louisiana 
foreign  to  the  LTnited  States ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  Diocese  of  Louisiana  has  ceased  to  be  a 
diocese  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America. 

But  whereas.  The  universal  experience  of  the  Catholic 
Church  has  from  a  very  early  time  shown  the  necessity  of 
such  local  combinations  among  dioceses  as  might  advance  the 
common  welfare  j 

And  whereas,  Reasons  of  the  highest  expediency  demand 
that  the  Church  in  this  respect  should  follow  the  nationalities 
which  in  the  order  of  Divine  Providence  may  be  raised  up  j 
therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  Diocese  of  Louisiana,  loyal  to  the  doc- 
trine, discipline,  and  example  of  the  holy  Catholic  Church,  and 
closely  following  the  model  of  our  mother  Church  of  England 
and  of  our  sister  dioceses  in  the  United  States,  is  desirous  of 
entering  into  union  with  the  remaining  dioceses  of  the  Con- 
federate States  for  the  formation  of  a  national  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  Confederate  States  of  America. 

Resolved  further,  That  this  convention  will  appoint  delegates 
to  represent  the  diocese  in  a  convention  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  Confederate  States  of  America,  to  be 
held  at  Montgomery,  in  the  State  and  Diocese  of  Alabama,  on 
the  third  day  of  July  next. 

All  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

{Signed.)  C.  S.  Hedges,  D.D.  George  S.  Guion. 

W.  T.  Leacock,  D.D.  Henry  Johnson. 

Dan'l  S.  Lewis,  D.D.         Alex.  Montgomery. 
John  Fulton.  W.  J.  Lyle. 


APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER   VII.  349 

On  motion  of  Dr.  J.  P.  Davidson,  the  report  of  the  committee 
was  received,  and  the  convention  proceeded  to  the  considera- 
tion of  the  resolutions  therein  proposed  for  adoption.  The 
resolutions  were  then,  on  motion  of  the  Rev.  John  Fulton, 
seconded  by  Dr.  Lyle,  severally  put,  and,  without  amendment, 
carried. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

LEONIDAS  POLK  AGAIN  A   SOLDIER. 
May  to  July,  1861. 

The  war  crisis  following  secession.—  Men  of  all  professions  drawn  into 
the  southern  Army.— The  defenses  of  the  Mississippi.—  ;orrespond- 
ence  with  Mr.  Davis. —  Soldierly  qualities. —  Anecdote. —  Trip  to  Vir- 
ginia.—  Tour  of  the  camps. —  Divine  services  and  confirmation. — Visit 
to  Bishop  Meade. —  Military  service  proposed. —  Mr.  Davis  offers  c 
definite  command. —  The  proposal  urged  hy  a  delegation  from  the 
Mississippi  Valley. — Albert  Sidney  Johnston. — Commissioned  as  major- 
general  in  the  provisional  army. —  Patriotic  motives  in  accepting. — A 
matter  of  conscience. — Approval  of  Bishop  Meade  and  others. —  Letter 
to  Mrs.  Polk. — Letters  to  Bishop  Elliott.— Promise  of  an  early  return  to 
Church  work. —  Sword  and  gown  anecdote. —  Bishop  Polk's  high  esti- 
mate of  the  episcopal  dignity. — Anecdotes.  —  The  bishopric  not  re- 
signed, but  its  duties  laid  aside  while  in  the  army. —  Aid  in  diocesan 
work  from  Bishops  Otey,  Elliott,  and  Lay.— The  priestly  function.— 
Views  of  Churchmen  on  Bishop  Polk's  entering  the  army  generally 
favorable. —  Strong  expressions  of  approval  and  esteem  from  Bishops 
Meade,  Elliott,  Otey,  and  others. —  Letter  from  Bishop  Hopkins. —  Let- 
ter to  Dr.  John  Fulton. —  Commission  resigned. —  Letter  to  Mr.  Davis; 
to  General  A.  S.  Johnston.— Reply  from  Mr.  Davis;  from  Mr.  Mem- 
minger ;  from  Bishop  Meade ;  from  Bishop  Otey. — Extract  from  Bishop 
Otey's  diary. — Resignation  withdrawn  and  again  forwarded. —  Remon- 
strances by  Mr.  Davis  and  others.—  Summary  view. 

During  the  early  months  of  1861  the  polemics  of 
tongue  and  pen  were  rapidly  changing  at  the  South  to 
the  polemics  of  the  sword.  Before  secession  became 
an  accomplished  act  there  were,  among  representative 
Southern  men  and  among  the  people,  radical  differences 
of  opinion,  based  upon  policy  and  sentiment,  as  to  the 

350 


Mt.  55]  THE   CALL  TO  ARMS.  351 

proposed  separation.  When  the  swift  march  of  events 
had  shown  that  the  sectional  debate,  which  had  been 
growing  in  intensity  and  bitterness  for  half  a  century, 
was  to  be  argued  out  in  the  forum  of  war,  such  differ- 
ences were  swept  into  the  limbo  of  dead  issues.  After 
the  Provisional  Congress  had  met  in  Montgomery,  all 
the  best  talent  and  experience  of  the  seceding  States, 
with  rare  exceptions,  drif  ted,  as  by  an  impulse  of  neces- 
sity and  of  self-preservation,  to  the  support  of  the  Con- 
federate Government. 

The  martial  spirit  was  everywhere  abroad.  Men  of 
all  temperaments,  of  all  previous  opinions,  and  of  all 
professions  began  to  take  arms.  Political  preferments 
and  that  leadership  in  civil  affairs  which  southern  men 
had  hitherto  sought  with  eagerness  were  no  longer 
thought  of.  The  post  of  duty  and  honor  was  felt  to  be 
in  the  army  and  at  the  front.  The  consideration  even 
of  military  rank  was  set  aside.  Young  men  of  the  high- 
est social  position  who  had  learned  the  manual  of  arms 
in  the  holiday  volunteer  corps  were  expected  to  carry 
their  muskets  and  guard  the  trenches,  and  they  went 
with  alacrity.  Upon  men  of  military  education  or  ex- 
perience the  call  was  even  more  peremptory.  From 
cadets  who  could  be  assigned  to  drill  recruits,  to  soldiers 
who  were  competent  to  command  brigades  and  divisions, 
all  who  could  give  aid  in  setting  the  newly  gathered 
armies  in  the  field  were  eagerly  sought,  and  were  ex- 
pected to  accept  command. 

In  such  a  crisis  and  in  such  an  atmosphere  it  was  im- 
possible for  a  man  of  Bishop  Polk's  education  and  char- 
acter to  take  sanctuary  behind  the  precedents  which 
govern  men  of  his  sacred  calling  in  quieter  times.  We 
have  seen  the  promptness  with  which  he  had  met  the 
ecclesiastical  crisis  created  by  the  secession  of  Louisiana, 


352  LETTER  FROM  PRESIDENT  DAVIS.       [1861 

and  the  earnestness  and  force  with  which  he  had  pressed 
upon  President  Buchanan  the  certainty  that  coercive 
measures  against  the  seceding  States  would  precipitate 
a  bloody  war.  When  the  war  he  had  foreseen  had  been 
actually  begun,  he  knew  that  prompt  and  energetic  mea- 
sures of  defense  were  necessary  to  resist  invasion  j  and 
his  military  education  and  knowledge  of  the  country 
enabled  him  to  tell  precisely  where  the  defense  of  the 
South  would  be  most  difficult. 

On  the  14th  of  May  he  addressed  a  letter  to  President 
Davis  on  the  exposed  condition  of  the  Valley  States. 
At  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  troops  and  arms  had  been 
hurried  from  all  parts  of  the  South  to  resist  the  Federal 
advance  into  Virginia ;  but  to  the  eye  of  a  soldier  it  was 
clear  that  a  tremendous  struggle  for  the  possession  of 
the  Mississippi  River  must  presently  begin.  Mr.  Davis 
did  not  underestimate  the  importance  of  that  great  high- 
way of  commerce,  nor  the  danger  with  which  it  was 
menaced,  but  he  could  do  little  more  at  that  time  than 
meet  the  necessities  of  preparation  for  the  impending 
Virginia  campaign.  His  reply  was  written  a  few  days 
before  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  government  to  Rich- 
mond. 

Montgomery,  Ala.,  May  22, 1861. 

Dear  Sir :  Your  kind  letter  of  the  14th  inst.  has  been  re- 
ceived. Your  solicitude  for  the  defense  and  safety  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley  is  natural ;  but  I  think  it  is  in  no  present 
danger.  An  invasion  will  hardly  be  attempted  at  this  season 
of  the  year.  The  people  of  the  northwestern  States  have  so 
great  a  dread  of  our  climate  that  they  could  not  be  prevailed 
on  to  march  against  us.  Even  if  they  did,  due  precautions 
have  been  taken  by  sending  guns  to  different  positions  deemed 
most  favorable,  and  by  assembling  troops  at  Union  City  and 
Corinth  to  sustain  the  batteries  on  the  river  and  meet  any 


Mt,  55]  A   NATUBAL  LEADER.  353 

column  sent  into  the  interior.  It  would  gratify  me  very  much 
to  see  you.  Accept  my  thanks  for  pious  wishes,  and  believe 
me  Ever  your  sincere  friend, 

Jeffn.  Davis. 
Rt.  Rev.  Leonidas  Polk. 

Whether  the  appointment  of  Bishop  Polk  to  a  military 
command  in  the  West  had  been  suggested  to  President 
Davis  before  the  date  of  this  letter,  the  writer  has  no 
means  of  knowing.  The  expression  of  a  desire  to  see 
the  bishop  may  indicate  that  the  subject  was  already 
under  consideration,  or  it  may  mean  simply  that  the 
President  would  be  pleased  to  have  a  personal  consulta- 
tion with  a  prominent  citizen  of  Louisiana,  who  was  his 
personal  friend,  and  who  had  been  much  consulted  by 
the  people  on  the  military  situation. 

Throughout  the  lower  Mississippi  Valley,  where  the 
bishop  was  well  known  to  the  whole  people,  either  per- 
sonally or  by  reputation,  a  desire  that  he  should  aid  in 
the  defense  of  their  property  and  their  homes  began  to 
be  felt  and  expressed  almost  from  the  hour  when  the 
hope  of  peaceable  secession  was  abandoned.  It  was  no 
secret  that  his  natural  bent  of  mind  and  character  was 
rather  that  of  a  soldier  than  of  a  priest,  and  that  he  had 
entered  the  ministry  under  a  deep  conviction  of  religious 
duty,  not  because  the  quiet  life  of  a  clergyman  was  more 
congenial  to  him  than  the  arduous  and  stirring  life  of  a 
soldier.  His  family  connections  and  long  residence  in 
Tennessee,  his  travels  far  and  wide  in  the  extensive  mis- 
sionary jurisdiction  of  the  Southwest,  and  his  position 
as  Bishop  of  Louisiana,  had  made  him  one  of  the  best- 
known  men  in  the  States  of  the  Confederacy  bordering 
upon  the  Mississippi  River ;  and,  wherever  known,  Polk 
was  recognized  and  remembered  as  possessing  the  quali- 
ties of  a  natural  leader.     The  impression  he  made  on 


354  VISIT  TO  PRESIDENT  DAVIS.  [1861 

casual  and  very  humble  acquaintances  was  remarkable ; 
and  an  anecdote  which  was  current  during  the  war  goes 
far  to  illustrate  the  origin  of  the  instinctive  popular  con- 
fidence in  his  fitness  for  high  military  command.  Trav- 
eling on  horseback  in  one  of  his  episcopal  visitations,  he 
stopped  for  the  night  at  a  country  inn,  when  his  host  at 
once  addressed  him  as  "  General." 

"  No,  my  friend/7  said  Polk,  "  you  are  mistaken  j  I  am 
not  a  soldier." 

"  Judge,  then,"  hazarded  the  innkeeper. 

"  That  is  not  the  title  given  me  by  those  who  know 
me,"  replied  Polk,  beginning  to  be  amused. 

"Well,  Bishop,  then  !  " 

"  Right,"  said  Polk,  laughing. 

To  which  the  other  rejoined,  "  I  knew  you  were  at  the 
head  of  your  profession,  whatever  it  was." 

His  habitual  promptness  and  vigor  in  action,  his  man- 
ifest conscientiousness  and  absolute  fearlessness  in  the 
performance  of  duty,  and  a  certain  air  of  soldierly  com- 
mand that  characterized  his  whole  bearing,  caused  him 
to  be  noted  from  the  first  as  a  man  to  whom  his  fellow- 
citizens  must  look  for  counsel  and  leadership  in  the 
dark  and  dangerous  crisis  into  which  they  had  been 
brought. 

Visiting  Sewanee  in  the  month  of  May  on  business  of 
the  university,  Governor  Isham  G.  Harris  of  Tennessee 
requested  him  to  go  to  President  Davis  at  Richmond 
and  urge  that  prompt  measures  might  be  taken  for  the 
defense  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Early  in  June  he  went 
to  Richmond,  partly,  as  he  wrote  to  Bishop  Elliott,  "  to  see 
my  young  churchmen  in  the  several  Louisiana  regiments 
all  over  Virginia,"  and  partly,  at  the  request  of  Governor 
Harris,  to  visit  President  Davis  and  to  use  his  knowledge 
and  influence  in  completing  the  armament  and  equip- 


Mt.  55]  URGED   TO  JOIN  THE  ARMY.  355 

ment  of  the  Tennessee  troops.     The  following  letter  to 
Mrs.  Polk  was  written  at  this  time : 

Richmond,  Va.,  June  10, 1861. 
My  dear  Wife  :  I  am  quite  well,  and  have  had  good  reason 
to  know  that  my  visit  here  has  been  of  decided  use  to  our 
cause  in  several  important  particulars.  I  have  dined  with 
Davis  and  members  of  his  Cabinet,  and  have  had  full  corre- 
spondence with  him,  in  which  I  discussed  matters  pertaining 
to  our  affairs  with  great  freedom  and  fullness.  He  has  re- 
ceived me  with  great  kindness  and  confidence,  and  I  think  the 
interview  will  not  be  otherwise  than  productive  of  good  re- 
sults. He  is  the  best  man  we  could  have,  and  commands 
general  confidence.  We  want,  and  he  wants,  General  A.  S. 
Johnston  badly.  He  has  not  yet  arrived.  I  have  had  several 
interviews  with  General  Lee.  He  is  a  highly  accomplished 
man.  Johnston  is  expected  shortly.  Joe  Johnston  is  at 
Harper's  Ferry.  John  Magruder  is  at  Hampton.  Beaure- 
gard is  at  Manassas  Gap ;  Garnet  in  Northwestern  Virginia, 
toward  Wheeling  j  Wise  in  the  direction  of  the  Kanawha  Val- 
ley. Davis  will  take  the  field  in  person  when  the  movement 
is  to  be  made.  I  am  doing  what  I  can  to  serve  Tennessee,  and 
getting  her  field-batteries, — which  are  of  the  first  importance, 
— and.  also  helping  in  some  other  respects. 

After  a  stay  of  eight  or  ten  days  in  Richmond  he 
visited  Norfolk,  Yorktown,  Bethel  Church,  Manassas, 
Winchester,  and  the  camps  around  Richmond,  holding 
divine  service  for  the  soldiers  and  confirming  not  a  few. 
He  met  many  old  friends  from  Louisiana  and  other 
States,  and  many  officers  who  had  resigned  their  com- 
missions in  the  Federal  Army ;  and  all  pressed  him  to 
take  service  with  the  Confederacy.  In  his  visits  to  Mr. 
Davis  to  deliver  Governor  Harris's  message  and  to  renew 
the  recommendations  made  in  his  own  letter  of  May 
14th,  he  warmly  urged  that  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  was 
the  fittest  person  to  be  entrusted  with  the  Department  of 


356  OFFER   OF  A    COMMISSION.  [1861 

the  West.  But  at  that  moment  Johnston  was  on  the 
Pacific  Coast  awaiting  an  opportunity  to  begin  his  famous 
journey  across  the  desert  from  Los  Angeles  to  the  Rio 
Grande.  Davis  offered  the  command  to  Polk  himself ; 
but  Polk  declined,  and  shortly  afterward  Mr.  Davis  ad- 
dressed to  him  the  following  friendly  letter,  renewing 
his  proposal  and  stating  the  extent  of  the  boundaries  of 
the  proposed  command. 

My  dear  Friend:  Would  it  be  agreeable  to  you,  with  the  rank 
of  brigadier-general,  to  have  command  of  the  land  and  water 
defenses  of  the  Mississippi  River  above  the  mouth  of  Red 
River  as  far  as  our  power  may  bear  our  jurisdiction  t  The 
department  would  include  the  river  counties  of  Mississippi 
and  Arkansas,  the  river  parishes  of  Louisiana  north  of  the 
Red  River,  and  that  part  of  West  Tennessee  west  and  south 
of  the  Tennessee  River. 

This  letter  was  followed  a  few  days  later  by  a  formal 
note  from  the  President,  urging  Polk  to  accept  the  com- 
mission of  major-general  with  substantially  the  same 
duties.  A  delegation  of  gentlemen  from  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  all  of  whom  were  personally  acquainted  with 
Polk,  was  then  in  Virginia  asking  for  the  immediate 
appointment  of  an  officer  to  defend  the  river  country, 
and  unanimously  urged  him  to  accept  the  President's 
appointment.  Of  the  affair  at  this  stage  Bishop  Polk 
gave  the  following  account  in  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Polk, 
dated  Richmond,  June  19th : 

I  find  there  is  a  great  wish  on  the  part  of  my  friends  that  I 
should  take  part  in  this  movement.  The  expression  is  very 
general,  and  the  President  has  twice  brought  it  before  me. 
He  is  very  desirous  for  me  to  accept  a  commission  in  the  Con- 
federate Army,  and  has  urged  many  considerations  for  my 
compliance.    A  number  of  New  Orleans  people  seem  to  de- 


Mt.  55]  A    QUESTION  OF  DUTY.  357 

sire  it  also,  as  well  as  many  of  my  military  friends.  I  have 
said  I  could  give  no  answer  to  this  now.  No  man  is  more 
deeply  impressed  with  the  paramount  importance  of  our  suc- 
cess in  this  movement,  nor  more  filled  with  apprehension  at 
the  prospect  of  its  failure ;  but  what  my  duty  may  be  I  have 
not  yet  determined.  I  cannot  ignore  what  I  know ;  I  cannot 
forget  what  I  have  learned;  nor  can  I  forget  I  have  been 
educated  by  the  country  for  its  service  in  certain  contingen- 
cies. Yet  I  feel  the  step  to  which  I  have  been  invited  is  one 
of  the  very  gravest  character  in  all  its  bearings  all  the  way 
around,  and  I  am  not  going  to  decide  it  hastily.  Whatever 
may  be  the  result,  I  hope  I  may  be  guided  from  on  High  in 
determining,  and  I  trust,  in  any  event,  I  may  be  permitted  to 
see  my  way  clear  before  me. 

On  the  22d  of  June  the  delegation  from  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley  returned  to  Richmond  after  a  visit  to  the 
military  stations  in  Virginia,  and  renewed  their  petitions 
to  Polk.  The  question  of  entering  the  army  had  then 
been  definitely  before  him  for  a  week.  Believing  the 
cause  of  the  South  to  be  a  righteous  one,  he  never  for  a 
moment  doubted  that  to  draw  the  sword  in  its  defense 
would  be  consistent  with  his  vows  to  the  Church.  On 
the  contrary,  his  letters  of  this  period  contain  ample 
evidence  that  he  felt  that  duty  required  him  to  do  so  if 
his  services  were  really  needed.  This  was  the  one  question 
to  which  he  prayerfully  sought  a  true  answer,  and  on 
which  he  took  advice.  All  the  rest  lay  between  him 
and  his  God.  Upon  the  right  or  the  wrong  of  the  step, 
as  a  matter  of  conscience,  he  never  consulted  any  man. 
Reserving  the  final  decision  to  himself,  he  conferred 
with  judicious  friends  in  the  Church  and  in  the  civil  and 
military  service  of  the  Confederacy ;  and  he  came  to  the 
conclusion  that,  under  all  the  circumstances,  he  could 
not  stand  excused  in  his  own  judgment  and  conscience 
if  he  were  to  decline.     In  making  his  decision  known  to 


358  COMMISSIONED  MAJOR-GENERAL.        [1861 

Mr.  Davis,  he  said  that  he  would  gladly  be  excused  from 
the  arduous  aud  responsible  task  set  before  him;  but 
that  if  another,  better  qualified,  could  not  be  found,  he 
would  not  shrink  from  it.  His  commission  as  major- 
general  was  issued  on  the  25th  of  June,  1861,  and  a  few 
days  later  he  set  out  to  take  command  of  his  department, 
with  headquarters  in  Memphis. 

In  the  following  letters  to  Mrs.  Polk  and  Bishop  Elliott 
he  narrates  what  had  occurred  between  the  19  th  and 
the  22d  of  June,  gives  an  account  of  a  visit  to  Bishop 
Meade,  and  tells  his  own  feelings  in  consenting  to  enter 
the  army. 

Richmond,  June  22, 1861. 

My  beloved  Wife:  I  wrote  you  a  few  days  ago  from  this 
place }  I  hope  you  received  my  letter.  Since  writing,  I  have 
been  to  Manassas  Junction,  and  to  the  Valley  of  Virginia, 
near  Winchester.  I  have  also  spent  a  day  with  Bishop 
Meade  at  his  house  near  Millwood. 

I  told  you  in  my  last  letter  that  I  had  been  urgently 
solicited  by  many  persons  of  consideration  to  lend  the  aid  of 
my  influence — my  name  and  personal  services — to  this 
great  cause.  These  solicitations  have  been  extended  and 
widened,  and  many  pleasant  sayings  reach  me  from  my  old 
friends  and  others  in  high  station  as  to  the  importance  of  allow- 
ing myself  to  take  part,  actively,  in  this  —  as  they  say — all- 
important  movement.  I  dare  not  write  what  is  said  of  their 
estimate  of  my  capacity  to  serve  the  country  in  this  emergency, 
nor  is  it  at  all  necessary. 

You  know  my  heart  is  in  it,  and  that  I  would  do  anything 
that  was  not  wrong  to  serve  it ;  and  yet  I  believe  I  have  a  low 
estimate  of  my  ability,  and  should  fear  to  attempt  what  I 
could  not  well  execute — supposing  all  that  was  questionable 
as  to  the  propriety  of  the  matter  out  of  the  way.  As  to  the 
latter  phase  of  the  question,  I  had  a  long  talk  with  Bishop 
Meade.  His  reply  was,  under  all  the  circumstances  of  the 
case,  taking  my  education,  history,  and  natural  character  into 
the  account,  he  could  not  condemn  it.     He  was  not  expected  to 


Mt.  55]  "  THE  DUTY  NEXT  HIM:'  359 

advise  it.  Since  writing  yon  last,  a  deputation  of  gentlemen 
have  arrived  from  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  sent  by  a 
large  meeting  held  there,  to  ask  the  President  to  appoint  a 
military  commander  to  the  charge  of  that  region.  These 
gentlemen  have  come  to  me,  and  unanimously  urged  upon  me 
to  allow  myself  to  be  appointed  to  that  office. 

This  they  did  before  I  left  town  three  days  ago.  I  have 
just  returned  to  town,  and  they  have  been  after  me  again. 
I  have  now  had  this  matter  before  me  a  week,  and  have 
thought  and  prayed  over  it,  and  taken  counsel  of  the  most 
judicious  of  my  friends,  and  I  find  my  mind  unable  to  say 
No  to  this  call,  for  it  seems  to  be  a  call  of  Providence.  I 
shall,  therefore,  looking  to  God  for  his  guidance  and  bless- 
ing, say  to  President  Davis  that  I  will  do  what  I  can  for 
my  country,  our  hearth-stones,  and  our  altars,  and  he  may 
appoint  me  to  the  office  he  proposed.  And  may  the  Lord 
have  mercy  upon  me,  and  help  me  to  be  wise,  to  be  saga- 
cious, to  be  firm,  to  be  merciful,  and  to  be  filled  with  all  the 
knowledge  and  all  the  graces  necessary  to  qualify  me  to  fill 
the  office  to  his  glory  and  the  good  of  men.  I  shall  see 
President  Davis  this  evening  and  shall  leave  for  Maury 
next  week. 

We  shall  have  an  attack  on  Alexandria  next  week,  also  a 
battle  in  the  neighborhood  of  York  shortly.  Everybody  is 
in  good  spirits  and  filled  with  resolution  to  free  our  country 
of  the  invader. 

Affectionately  yours, 

L.  Polk. 

Richmond,  June  22, 1861. 
My  dear  Elliott:  I  have  been  in  Virginia  about  a  fort- 
night; came  to  see  my  young  churchmen  in  the  several 
Louisiana  regiments  all  over  Virginia.  I  have  visited  Nor- 
folk, Yorktown,  Bethel  Church,  Manassas,  and  Winchester, 
also  the  camp  near  the  city.  Louisiana  has  turned  out 
about  12,000,  and  they  are  the  flower  of  our  youth;  a  fine, 
gallant  set  of  fellows  they  are,  of  whom  I  feel  proud.  I 
came  also  to  assist  in  completing  the  armament  of  Ten- 
nessee,  at  the  instance  of  Governor  Harris.      This   latter 


360  LETTER   TO  BISHOP  ELLIOTT.  [1861 

work,  so  far  as  field-artillery  (their  greatest  need)  is  con- 
sidered, is  now  pretty  well  complete.  Say  to  Hettie1  that 
the  old  North  State  has  got  through  with  her  thinking,  and, 
as  I  promised,  has  gone  to  working,  and  the  Bethel  affair, 
which,  by  the  way,  was  conducted  in  chief  part  by  two 
Mecklenburg  companies,  is  but  an  earnest  of  the  sort  of  work 
she  is  to  do  when  she  gets  wide  awake. 

I  have  just  returned  from  a  visit  to  old  Father  Meade. 
We  talked  over  everything  connected  with  Church  and  State. 
He  is  right,  wonderfully  right,  all  the  way  round.  I  was 
delighted  with  him.  He  is  a  regular  old  Roman,  and  is 
quite  ready  to  be  southern  all  through.  He  is  for  a  down- 
right good  fight,  and  wants  the  enemy  to  feel  the  weight 
of  our  arm.  He  is  for  no  half-way  measures,  and  so  was  very 
refreshing.    His  clergy,  too,  are  of  the  same  view. 

None  of  the  delegation  from  Virginia  will  feel  at  liberty 
to  leave  home  for  Montgomery  on  account  of  the  war.  The 
convention  must  meet  and  adjourn.  I  fear  I  cannot  be  at  the 
convention.  The  North  seems  bent  on  overrunning  the  coun- 
try and  sponging  us  out  at  all  hazards.  I  find  many  of  my 
friends  in  and  out  of  the  Church,  and  in  and  out  of  my  dio- 
cese, pressing  me  to  take  military  service.  The  President, 
Davis,  also,  has  again  and  again  called  my  attention  to  it,  and 
proposed  it.  At  last,  he  has  in  a  formal  manner  addressed  me 
a  note  urging  the  acceptance  of  the  office  of  major-general,  to 
be  charged  with  the  water  and  land  defenses  of  the  Mississippi 
River,  from  our  upper  boundary  down  to  the  mouth  of  Red 
River.  All  this  has  embarrassed  me  not  a  little,  and  this 
embarrassment  has  been  increased  to-day  by  the  appear- 
ance in  Richmond  of  a  committee  of  gentlemen  from  the 
Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  who  came  to  ask  Davis  for  some 
one  to  take  charge  of  its  defenses.  They  are  all  known  tc 
me,  and  have  united  in  urging  this  appointment  upon  me. 
The  matter  has  been  before  me  for  a  week.  I  have  con- 
sulted some  judicious  friends  in  and  out  of  the  Church, 
among  them  old  Father  Meade.  He  says  as  a  general  rule 
he  could  not  sanction  it,  but  that  all  rules  have  exceptions, 

i  A  daughter  of  Bishop  Elliott. 


^Et.  55]      FOB   CONSTITUTIONAL  LIBERTY.  361 

and,  taking  all  things  into  consideration  as  they  relate  to 
the  condition  of  the  country  and  myself  personally,  he  could 
not  condemn  my  course  if  I  should  accept  the  appointment. 
I  wanted  a  view  of  the  matter  from  his  standpoint.  The 
decision  I  reserved  for  myself.  Under  all  the  circumstances  I 
cannot  see  how  I  could  stand  excused  in  my  own  judgment 
and  conscience  in  declining  it.  I  have  therefore  told  Davis 
that  while  I  should  be  glad  to  be  excused  from  the  respon- 
sibility, still,  if  he  can  find  no  one  who  could  perform  the 
work  he  desires  to  have  done  better,  I  will  not  shrink  from 
it,  notwithstanding  an  unfeigned  diffidence  of  my  capacity 
to  do  it  as  it  should  be  done. 

I  believe  most  solemnly  that  it  is  for  Constitutional  liberty, 
ivhich  seems  to  have  fled  to  us  for  refuge,  for  our  hearth- stones, 
and  our  altars  that  we  strike.  I  hope  I  shall  be  supported  in 
the  work  and  have  grace  to  do  my  duty. 

As  to  my  diocese,  I  have,  of  course,  not  had  time  to  con- 
sult it,  nor  would  I  have  done  so  if  I  had.  This  is  such  a 
ease  as  I  should,  I  think,  decide  for  myself.  I  shall  not 
resign  my  charge  of  it,  but  shall  write  them  that  I  have 
undertaken  this  work  because  it  seemed  the  duty  next  me,  a  duty 
I  trust  God  will  allow  me  to  get  through  with  without  delay, 
that  I  may  return  to  chosen  and  usual  work.  My  beloved 
brother,  let  me  have  the  benefit  of  your  prayers,  that  I  may 
be  preserved  and  supported.  Write  me  also  to  Memphis 
all  that  you  think  of  the  matter.  That,  for  some  time  to 
come,  will  be  my  headquarters.  I  shall  decline  acting 
as  agent  for  the  university  j  while  the  war  lasts,  I  can  do 
nothing,  and  do  not,  in  that  case,  think  it  right  to  hold 
the  office. 

Our  future  is  in  God's  hands :  let  us  be  content  to  leave  it 
with  him,  and  hope  he  may  let  us  see  more  of  each  other  in 
the  future. 

Mr.  Davis  perfectly  understood  the  spirit  in  which 
Polk  accepted  the  duty  which  had  been  thrust  upon  him, 
as  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  from  Mr.  Davis  to 
the  writer  very  clearly  shows : 


362  "THE  SWORD   OVER   THE   GOWN."        [1861 

I  have  said  your  father  was  my  esteemed  friend ;  but  I  will 
add  I  not  only  honored  and  held  him  in  the  highest  estimation, 

I  loved  him.    With  such  relation  you  will  not  be  surprised 

at  my  solicitude  that  the  "history  of  his  military  career,"  which 
you  inform  me  is  being  written,  should  be  so  full  as  to  do 
justice  to  his  services  and  noble  character.  As  he  told  me, 
when  I  tendered  him  a  commission,  it  was  amor  pro  arts  et 
focis  ;  like  a  Christian  he  entered  on  a  patriot's  duty. 

Profound  satisfaction  at  the  step  Polk  had  taken  was 
felt  and  expressed  on  all  sides.  In  humorous  allusion  to 
Polk  and  General  Gideon  Pillow,  the  Tennesseans  said 
that  they  were  safe  now,  since  they  had  the  "  sword  of 
the  Lord  and  of  Gideon "  to  defend  them.  As  he  was 
descending  the  steps  of  the  Capitol  at  Richmond  a  gen- 
tleman of  his  acquaintance  stopped  him  to  congratulate 
him  on  his  "promotion."  "Pardon  me,"  said  Polk 
gravely ;  "  I  do  not  consider  it  a  promotion.  The  highest 
office  on  earth  is  that  of  a  bishop  in  the  Church  of  God." 
Another  friend  half  seriously  exclaimed  to  him,  "  What ! 
you,  a  bishop,  throw  off  the  gown  for  the  sword  !  "  "  No, 
sir,"  was  the  instant  reply,  "  I  buckle  the  sword  over  the 
gown."  In  this  laconic  phrase  the  sentiment  and  pur- 
pose of  the  bishop  in  taking  arms  as  a  soldier  were 
truly  as  well  as  felicitously  expressed  j  and  they  were 
never  changed.  Only  a  few  days  before  he  fell  on  Pine 
Mountain,  he  said  to  a  friend,  "  I  feel  like  a  man  whose 
house  is  on  fire,  and  who  has  left  his  business  to  put  it 
out.  As  soon  as  the  war  is  over  I  shall  return  to  my 
proper  calling." 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  when  Polk  took  service  it 
was  distinctly  to  meet  the  temporary  emergency  for 
which  the  "provisional  army"  under  his  command  was 
organized.  He  consented  to  command  it  only  until  a 
suitable  successor  could  be  found;  and  he  had  the  ex- 


Mt.  55]         PROVISION  FOR   THE  FLOCK.  363 

plicit  promise  of  the  President  that  he  should  be  released 
from  service  at  the  earliest  possible  time.  From  first  to 
last  he  regarded  his  military  occupation  as  a  painful 
interruption  of  his  sacred  labors  in  the  ministry ;  but  so 
long  as  it  pleased  divine  Providence  to  continue  that 
interruption,  he  considered  it  his  duty  to  devote  himself 
exclusively  to  "the  work  that  lay  next  him."  For  the 
present,  therefore,  while  he  was  intensely  interested  in 
the  progress  of  ecclesiastical  affairs,  he  took  no  personal 
part  in  directing  them.  On  the  22d  of  June,  before  his 
commission  was  issued,  but  after  he  had  consented  to 
accept  it,  he  wrote  to  Bishop  Elliott  that  he  would  not 
be  able  to  attend  the  convention  which  was  about  to 
meet  at  Montgomery,  and  which  he  and  Elliott  had  done 
so  much  to  promote.  In  the  circumstances  which  had 
arisen,  the  convention  must  do  what  it  might  find  to  do 
without  him.  For  him,  he  said,  there  was  now  "  sterner 
work  on  hand."  He  provided  for  the  care  of  his  people 
by  accepting  the  brotherly  offers  of  Bishops  Elliott, 
Otey,  and  Lay  to  visit  his  parishes ;  and  so,  committing 
his  flock  to  the  care  of  Almighty  God  and  faithful  breth- 
ren, he  applied  himself  to  the  work  to  which  he  firmly 
believed  that  God  had  specially  called  him.  Thencefor. 
ward,  until  his  death,  he  exercised  no  episcopal  function 
or  jurisdiction ;  and  he  felt  it  to  be  right  to  abstain 
from  all  functions  which  are  peculiar  to  the  sacred  min- 
istry. Therefore,  while  the  influence  of  his  Christian 
example  was  deeply  felt  by  his  associates  and  by  the 
armies  under  his  command,  there  were  only  four  occa- 
sions on  which  he  permitted  himself  to  officiate  as  a 
priest.  One  of  these  was  at  the  death-bed  of  the  gallant 
Major  Edward  Butler,  who  fell  at  Belmont ;  his  second 
clerical  act  was  to  perform  the  wedding  ceremony  at  the 
marriage  of  General  John  Morgan ;  the  third,  performed 


364  POLK'S  HEART  IN  THE   CHURCH.         [1861 

within  a  month  of  his  death,  was  the  baptism  of  General 
Hood  j  and  the  fourth  was  the  baptism  of  General  Joe 
Johnston  a  few  days  later. 

If  General  Polk  did  not  exercise  the  jurisdiction  of  a 
bishop,  and  if  he  thought  it  proper  to  abstain  from  other 
functions  of  the  ministry,  it  was  not  of  voluntary  choice, 
but  from  a  sense  of  fitness.  His  heart  was  with  his  peo- 
ple, his  best  affections  went  out  to  his  brethren  of  the 
ministry.  As  the  days  grew  into  months,  and  months 
into  years,  his  love  for  them  grew  only  stronger.  Thus, 
on  May  4, 1863,  he  wrote  to  Bishop  Elliott : 

Headquarters,  Polk's  Corps,  May  4, 1863. 

My  dear  Elliott :  Dr.  Quintard  goes  to  the  meeting  of  the 
council,  and  I  write  by  him.  How  I  should  like  to  be  with 
you !  — but  I  cannot  yet.  Quintard  will  tell  you  how  things  are 
with  us,  and  how  we  long  to  see  you  and  commune  with  you 
and  our  dear  brethren  generally;  but  we  cannot  yet.  And 
yet  what  a  relief  it  would  be !  Can  you  not  come  and  see 
me  ?  My  feet  are  fast  in  the  stocks,  and  I  cannot  get  to  see 
you !  I  think,  too,  you  might  do  great  good  by  coming. 
Come  up  and  preach  for  us,  and  visit  us,  and  administer  the 
communion  to  us,  and  confirm  our  young  people  and  old. 
You  cannot  spend  a  week  or  so  more  profitably.  Come  and 
bring  Wilmer  with  you  and  "refresh  our  bowels w;  for  we 
many  times  feel  greatly  the  need  of  such  refreshing. 

Something  should  be  done  for  the  children  of  the  Church  in 
the  army ;  very  little  or  nothing  is  being  done.  Can  you  not 
send  us  some  clergymen?  I  am  amazed  that  so  few  are 
found  willing  to  labor  in  such  a  cause.  What  higher  or  holier 
could  they  ask  1 

I  fear  our  brother  Otey  is  approaching  his  last  days.  I 
hear  he  is  in  bed  and  cannot  well  get  out  again.  But  I  had 
rather  talk  with  you  than  write  you,  so  come  and  let  us  see 
you  face  to  face. 

I  think  you  and  Wilmer,  who  are  both  so  near  us,  might 
come  and  see  "  how  we  do." 


Mt.  55]  A    STARTLED   CLERGY.  365 

Nevertheless,  the  unusual,  though  surely  not  unprece- 
dented, step  of  a  bishop  "  buckling  the  sword  over  the 
gown  "  could  not  but  call  forth  criticism.  At  the  North 
it  was  unsparingly  condemned,  of  course;  but  even 
at  the  North  there  were  those  who  could  do  justice 
to  the  man  while  deeply  regretting  the  course  he  had 
thought  it  right  to  take.  Thus,  after  Polk's  death,  the 
venerable  Hopkins,  Presiding  Bishop  of  the  Church  in 
the  United  States,  wrote  in  these  terms  to  Mrs.  Polk : 

I  deeply  regretted  your  dear  husband's  act  in  accepting  a 
general's  commission  in  the  army ;  but  I  never  doubted  that 
he  was  governed  by  the  purest  conscientious  desire  to  do 
what  he  regarded  as  his  duty  to  God  and  to  his  country 
The  spirit  of  a  Christian  martyr  was  an  element  in  his  lofty 
character,  and  while  I  could  not  have  seen  the  case  in  the 
same  light,  I  was  well  persuaded  that  he  regarded  his  course 
as  a  sacrifice  laid  on  the  altar  of  truth,  and  went  forth  believ- 
ing himself  to  be  called  to  wield  the  sword  of  the  Lord  and 
of  Gideon.  To  our  beloved  brethren  in  the  South  he  has  left 
a  legacy  of  zeal  and  devotion  never  surpassed  and  rarely 
equaled  in  the  whole  range  of  human  history.  And  the 
memory  of  his  labors  for  the  Church,  and  his  sacrifices  in  the 
cause  of  independence,  will  be  cherished  in  the  hearts  of 
thousands  through  future  generations,  after  the  false  glory  of 
worldly  triumphs  shall  have  passed  away. 

The  southern  bishops  and  other  clergy  were  startled 
at  first  at  the  news  that  the  Bishop  of  Louisiana  had 
accepted  a  military  command,  and  not  a  few  of  them 
regretted  it.  But  there  was  not  one  who  doubted  the 
unselfishness  or  the  integrity  of  purpose  by  which  he 
had  been  actuated,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  great 
majority  of  them  came  to  feel  that  for  Leonidas  Polk  to 
have  taken  any  other  course  would  have  been  nearly  or 
quite  an  impossibility.     A  quaint  letter  from  Bishop 


366  BISHOP  MEADE'S   VIEWS.  [1861 

Meade  of  Virginia  expresses  a  state  of  mind  which  was 
very  general  in  August,  1861 : 

I  see  it  has  gotten  into  the  northern  papers  that  yon  came 
to  see  me  on  the  subject  of  accepting  office  in  the  army,  and 
that  I  said  you  were  already  in  high  office  in  the  army  of  the 
Lord,  the  Church;  but  that  the  result  was  your  acceptance; 
leaving  the  impression,  either  that  you  felt  bound  to  engage  in 
the  war,  or  that  I  was  not  much  opposed,  or  both.  This  is, 
I  presume,  about  the  right  conclusion.  Ever  since  you  left 
me  I  have  felt  a  strong  interest  in  the  movement;  and  now 
that  you  are  actually  in  the  field,  I  feel  au  earnest  desire  to 
hear  of  all  your  movements,  and  of  the  state  of  things  in  that 
part  of  our  country  in  which  you  are  appointed  as  a  home 
guard  on  a  most  extensive  scale.  1  wish  you  would  once 
a  week  just  drop  me  a  line  about  your  movements  and  pros- 
pects. A  few  moments  will  answer  for  this,  and  will  afford 
me  much  relief  and  satisfaction. 

Bishop  Elliott  expressed  the  same  view  as  that  taken 
by  Bishop  Meade.  "My  opinion,"  he  said,  "coincides 
very  much  with  that  of  Bishop  Meade,  that,  as  a  gen- 
eral thing,  it  was  inexpedient,  but  in  your  particular 
case,  and  under  the  circumstances  of  our  western  coun- 
try, very  defensible.  I  am  jealous  for  you  with  a  great 
jealousy,  and  shall  watch  for  you  with  great  vigilance 
and  love."  Among  the  clergy  in  general  much  the  same 
feeling  prevailed.  Whatever  any  one  might  think  of 
the  abstract  question  of  the  clergy  taking  arms,  no  one 
pretended  to  blame  Polk  or  to  pronounce  judgment 
upon  him.  All  sorts  of  letters  were  poured  in  upon  him 
expressing  the  mingled  admiration  and  perplexity  of  the 
writers.  One  correspondent  frankly  declared  that  the 
report  had  "  taken  his  breath  away,"  but  added  that  after 
reflection  he  had  been  convinced  of  the  moral  heroism  of 
the  step  that  had  been  taken,  and  closed  his  letter  with 


Mt.  55]  OTEY'S  ESTIMATE   OF  POLK.  367 

the  expression  of  a  regret  that  the  lack  of  a  military 
education  should  prevent  his  following  Polk's  example  ! 
The  warm-hearted  Dr.  Leacock,  rector  of  Christ  Church, 
New  Orleans,  confessed  to  an  amusing  inward  conflict 
between  his  conviction  that  Polk  must  have  been  right 
and  a  fear  that  he  might  have  been  carried  away  by  the 
impetuosity — "Polkism,"  Leacock  called  it — of  his  fer- 
vent nature,  and  he  said,  "  The  whole  cannonade  of  the 
North  could  not  have  shaken  me  more  than  the  an- 
nouncement of  your  course,  but  I  stood  the  fire  because 
I  had  confidence  in  my  leader."  As  time  passed,  all 
these  discussions  ceased,  and  from  all  sides  Polk  was 
cheered  by  communications  breathing  nothing  but  af- 
fectionate admiration.  After  a  time  Bishop  Meade  de- 
fended his  action  "  against  all  objections,  as  an  excep- 
tion to  a  general  rule,  imperiously  demanded  by  the 
emergencies  of  the  country."  Bishop  Otey,  of  Tennes- 
see, was  one  of  those,  as  his  daughter  writes,  who  "  al- 
ways upheld  and  justified  Bishop  Polk  for  the  step  he 
took  in  becoming  a  soldier."  He  visited  Polk  at  Colum- 
bus, and  while  there  made  the  following  entry  in  his 
diary :  "  I  slept  with  General  Polk  last  night,  and  had 
much  interesting  and  gratifying  conversation  with  him, 
especially  concerning  his  position  and  his  earnest  desire 
to  be  relieved  from  it.  We  had  sweet  communion  in 
prayer  morning  and  night.  He  stands  higher  in  my 
esteem  than  ever."  And  later  on,  when  almost  crushed 
by  the  miseries  of  his  people,  exiled  from  home,  and 
slowly  sinking  into  his  grave,  he  wrote  to  Polk  under 
date  of  July  15,  1862 : 

My  dear  Brother:  I  have  endeavored  to  be  with  you  daily 
and  nightly  in  spirit,  invoking  God's  protection  in  all  dangers, 
his  guidance  in  all  difficulties,  his  support  under  all  your 


368  LETTERS  FROM  ELLIOTT.  [1861 

trials,  his  grace  to  comfort  you  in  all  your  sorrows.  I  can 
do  no  more.  What  a  pleasure  it  will  be  to  see  your  face  once 
more. 

But  Elliott,  the  brother  of  his  heart,  was  his  most  con- 
stant correspondent,  and  Elliott  voiced  the  feeling  of  all 
his  brethren.     On  October  3, 186.1,  he  wrote : 

"We  have  been  most  anxiously  watching  events  in  your 
part  of  the  military  field,  and  must  say  that  you  have  exhib- 
ited more  nerve  and  activity  than  has  been  displayed  any- 
where else.  ...  Your  letters,  and  especially  your  refusal  to 
fall  back  from  Columbus,  have  given  us  unfeigned  delight." 

After  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro,  Bishop  Elliott  wrote 
again : 

January  9,  1863. 

Most  heartily  do  I  thank  God  for  the  glorious  victory,  for 
the  gallantry  which  distinguished  you,  and  for  your  personal 
safety.  .  .  .  We  have  been  in  a  state  of  great  tumult  for  the 
last  week  over  this  battle  and  yourself.  All  send  you  their 
warmest  love  and  admiration.  .  .  .  And  now,  my  more  than 
brother,  may  God  have  you  in  his  holy  care  and  keeping; 
may  he  watch  over  and  guard  you  and  yours,  and  preserve 
you  unharmed  through  this  cruel  war;  and  may  we  often  meet 
over  peaceful  firesides  to  recall  the  horrors  of  this  period,  and 
to  thank  God  for  all  his  mercies  toward  us.  I  have  come 
to  this  new  year,  and  so  have  you,  with  an  unbroken  circle, 
and  we  of  all  men  should  be  most  thankful,  for  we  have  had 
representatives  upon  almost  every  battlefield. 

While  Polk  was  not  a  man  to  be  moved  from  what  he 
held  to  be  his  dnty  by  the  censure  of  others,  he  was 
deeply  gratified  by  the  approval  of  men  whom  he  es- 
teemed, and  he  was  anxious  to  be  understood  by  them. 
He  was  particularly  anxious  that  it  should  be  known 
that  he  was  only  meeting  an  emergency,  and  that  in 


^t.55]  WAITING  FOR  BELIEF.  369 

taking  a  command  he  had  not  been  dazzled  by  dreams 
of  military  glory,  bnt  had  simply  accepted  what  he  be- 
lieved to  be  an  imperative,  though  exceptional,  duty.  To 
one  of  his  younger  clergy  who  had  been  his  assistant 
rector,  and  had  succeeded  him  as  rector  of  Trinity 
Church,  New  Orleans,  and  who  had  written  him  on  De- 
cember 25, 1861,  he  returned  the  following  reply : 

Columbus,  Ky.,  February  4,  1862. 

My  dear  Fulton:  I  have  received  your  kind  letter  of  Christ- 
mas Day,  and  have  not  had  a  moment  I  could  call  my  own  to 
reply  to  it  before. 

I  thank  you  for  the  cordial  sympathy  and  confidence  it 
breathes.  Such  things — and  I  am  glad  to  say  I  have  had  many 
such — are  a  great  cordial  to  the  soul,  and  help  to  support  one 
in  the  discharge  of  duty.  My  life  is  one  of  unceasing  toil  and 
anxiety.  The  work  I  do  is  without  intermission,  and  all 
indispensable.  How  I  stand  up  under  it  is  a  matter  of  sur- 
prise to  many,  not  less  than  myself.  But  I  have  been  won- 
derfully sustained.  I  took  the  office  only  to  fill  a  gap, — only 
because  the  President,  as  he  said,  could  find  no  one  to  whom 
he  could  with  satisfaction  devolve  its  duties.  I  have  always 
regarded  myself  as  a  locum  tenens,  and  have  ever  been  desirous 
to  have  some  one  make  his  appearance,  of  competent  ability, 
and  with  a  commission  to  relieve  me.  As  yet  I  have  waited 
in  vain  for  the  man  to  take  my  post  and  let  me  return  to  my 
cherished  work.  I  have  labored  as  though  I  regarded  my 
employment  as  permanent,  while  I  have  been  encouraged  and 
promised  it  should  be  terminated  "  as  soon  as  practicable,"  and 
if  the  relief  cannot  be  found,  I  shall  go  on,  by  God's  blessing, 
with  fidelity  to  the  end.  I  hope  you  are  all  getting  on  well 
with  your  flocks.  I  think  of  you  all  and  carry  you  in  my 
heart  with  earnest  remembrance  day  by  day.  May  the  good 
Lord  take  care  of  you  all.  I  have  asked  Bishops  Otey  and 
Lay  to  make  a  visitation  of  the  churches  of  my  diocese  for 
me,  and  hope  they  may  do  so.  I  have  written  the  Standing 
Committee  to  that  effect. 


370  APPOINTMENT  OF  JOHNSTON.  [1861 

Give  my  love  to  all  the  brethren  and  the  members  of  your 
flock,  and  believe  me,  very  truly  and  faithfully, 

Yours  in  Christ, 

Leonidas  Polk. 

In  his  letter  to  Mr.  Fulton,  as  in  other  letters,  Leonidas 
Polk  was  at  pains  to  express  his  strong  desire  to  be  re- 
lieved from  his  military  charge  and  to  return  to  his  "cher- 
ished work."  But  he  did  not  tell  the  steps  he  had  already 
taken  to  secure  relief,  and  he  gave  no  hint  that  he  was 
even  then  renewing  his  efforts  to  the  same  end.  Before 
entering  on  the  history  of  his  campaigns,  the  present 
seems  to  be  the  proper  place  in  which  to  tell  that  part 
of  his  story. 

On  the  appointment  of  General  Albert  Sidney  John- 
ston to  the  command  of  the  Southwest  in  September, 
1861,  the  necessity  which  had  required  Polk  to  enter  the 
army  seemed  to  have  been  removed.  Johnston  was  a 
soldier  of  the  highest  reputation,  of  large  experience, 
implicitly  trusted  by  the  government,  and  almost  wor- 
shiped by  the  troops  under  his  command.  He  was  the 
friend  of  Polk's  youth  and  the  man  whose  appointment 
he  had  urged,  in  preference  to  all  others,  as  the  com- 
mander of  that  department.  Polk  felt,  therefore,  that 
the  time  had  come  when  he  might  properly  resign  his 
commission.  Accordingly,  as  soon  as  he  had  finished 
some  important  work  in  which  he  was  engaged,  he  sent 
his  resignation  to  the  President.  The  letter  is  here 
given: 

Headquarters,  1st  Division,  Western  Department, 
Columbus,  Ky.,  Nov.  6, 186.1. 
Sir:  You  will  remember  with  what  reluctance  I  consented 
to  accept  the  commission  of  major-general  in  the  provisional 
army.     You  will  remember  also  that  the  considerations  in- 
ducing my  acceptance  were  the  duty  which  I  felt  I  owed  the 


^Et.  55]  TENDER   OF  RESIGNATION.  371 

country  at  whose  hands  I  had  received  a  military  education, 
in  connection  with  the  difficulty  of  your  finding  a  commander 
to  whom  you  were  willing  to  entrust  the  department  you 
wished  to  assign  to  me.  These  considerations,  supported  by 
the  conviction  that  u  resistance  to  tyrants  is  duty  to  God," 
warranted  my  turning  aside  from  employments  far  more  con- 
genial to  my  feelings  and  tastes,  to  devote  myself  for  the  time 
to  the  military  service  of  the  country. 

I  have  been  in  that  service  now  more  than  four  months, 
and  have  devoted  myself  with  untiring  constancy  to  the  duties 
of  my  office,  with  what  efficiency  and  success  the  country  must 
judge. 

Within  the  last  few  weeks  you  have  been  able  to  avail 
yourself  of  a  distinguished  military  commander,  our  mutual 
friend,  who  was  not  in  the  country  at  the  date  of  my  appoint- 
ment, upon  whom  you  have  devolved,  partly  at  my  instance, 
the  duties  of  the  office  I  consented  to  fill. 

It  will  be  agreed,  I  believe,  upon  all  hands,  that  a  more 
judicious  selection  could  not  have  been  made,  and  that  his 
military  knowledge  and  experience  will  supply  all  that  was 
needed.  I  have  been  willing  to  remain  as  second  in  command 
until  the  fortifications  at  Fort  Pillow  and  at  this  very  impor- 
tant point  are  completed.  This  has  now  been  substantially 
accomplished,  and  I  feel  that,  as  the  necessity  which  induced 
me  to  take  office  no  longer  exists,  and  as  the  other  general 
officers  with  whom  I  have  been  associated  are  men  of  ability 
and  experience,  I  may  be  permitted  to  retire  and  resume  my 
former  pursuits. 

I  beg  leave,  therefore,  to  tender  to  you  my  resignation  of 
my  commission  as  major-general  of  the  provisional  army  of 
the  Confederate  States. 

I  remain,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

L.  Polk,  Major- Gen.  Commanding. 

His  Excellency,  Jefferson  Davis, 
President,  C.  S.  A. 

Polk's  letter  of  resignation  was  written  the  day  before 
he  fought  the  battle  of  Belmont,  which  will  be  described 


372         LETTER  TO   GENERAL  JOHNSTON.  [1861 

elsewhere.  Two  days  after  the  battle  he  sent  to  General 
Johnston  a  copy  of  his  letter  of  resignation  enclosed  in  a 
personal  letter,  in  which  he  fully  explained  the  motives 
which  had  actuated  him  in  accepting  his  commission, 
and  which  now  prompted  him  to  lay  it  down.  He  did 
not  conceal  his  strong  inclination  to  remain  in  the  ser- 
vice to  support  his  old  friend  in  the  performance  of 
duty;  but  he  contended  that  the  necessity  which  had 
required  his  service  no  longer  existed,  and  that  his  duty 
now  required  him  to  return  to  his  appropriate  work. 
His  letter  was  as  follows : 

Headquarters,  1st  Division,  Western  Department, 
Columbus,  November  9, 1861. 

My  dear  General:  It  is  due  to  you  to  send  you  a  copy  of 
the  accompanying  letter  which  I  have  addressed  and  sent  to 
President  Davis.  My  turning  aside  from  the  path  I  have 
chosen,  for  the  purpose  of  entering  on  the  duties  of  the  office 
I  now  fill,  was,  as  I  told  you  in  one  of  our  conversations,  not 
a  matter  of  my  own  seeking,  but  the  prompting  of  our  friend, 
the  President,  and,  as  I  have  remarked  in  my  letter  to  him, 
was  done  with  great  reluctance,  the  moving  consideration 
being  his  inability  to  find  one  to  whom  he  was  willing  to  en- 
trust the  command  of  the  Western  Department.  Your  name 
being  presented  by  me  to  him,  the  reply  was  that  you  were 
not  in  the  country ;  and  I  accepted  to  fill  the  gap.  Many  of 
my  most  judicious  friends  thought  that  in  this  I  did  an  ex- 
treme thing;  but,  conscious  of  acting  from  a  sense  of  duty,  I 
accepted  the  office. 

When  you  arrived  and  were  appointed,  I  thought  I  might 
then  be  released ;  but  as  I  had  taken  in  hand  some  important 
defenses,  I  felt  as  if  I  might  be  useful  to  the  country  in  seeing 
tjiem  completed  first.  This  object  having  been  now  accom- 
plished, and  the  particular  necessity  forming  the  excuse  for 
my  taking  military  service  no  longer  existing,  I  have  felt  I 
was  not  at  liberty  to  continue  to  withdraw  myself  from  my 
other  duties;  and  this,  too,  when  there  were  so  many  men  of 


J3t  55]  RESIGNATION  DECLINED.  373 

ability  in  the  country,  having  no  such  obligations,  who  were 
free  to  engage  in  the  duties  I  am  now  discharging.  These 
views  I  have  held  to  friends  for  some  time  past,  and  I  feel  the 
time  has  come  when  I  may  be  permitted  to  retire.  I  am  on 
many  accounts  strongly  tempted  to  remain  and  continue  to 
support  you,  and  if  my  services  were  essential  to  the  success 
of  the  army,  I  should  feel  my  position  one  of  extreme  em- 
barrassment; but,  that  not  being  by  any  means  the  case,  I 
must  claim  the  privilege  of  being  guided  by  that  sense  of 
duty  in  retiring  from  the  military  service  which  influenced  me 
in  accepting  it,  being  persuaded  you  can  find  among  the 
general  officers  under  your  command  one  who  can  fill  my 
place  far  more  satisfactorily  than  I  do.  I  have  asked,  as  you 
will  see  by  this  letter  enclosed,  the  acceptance  of  my  resigna- 
tion of  my  commission.     I  remain, 

Very  truly  your  friend, 

L.  Polk,  Major- Gen.  Commanding. 

Polk  sent  his  resignation  to  President  Davis  by  the 
hand  of  his  son  and  aide-de-camp,  Hamilton,  who  was 
instructed  to  urge  its  acceptance  upon  the  President. 
But  after  the  battle  of  Belmont  it  was  simply  impossible 
for  President  Davis  to  comply  with  his  request.  For  the 
present,  therefore,  he  refused,  kindly  and  courteously 
but  firmly,  to  entertain  it,  promising,  however,  to  remem- 
ber Polk's  desire  as  soon  as  the  welfare  of  the  country 
should  permit.     The  President's  letter  was  as  follows : 

Richmond,  Va.,  Nov.  12,  1861. 

My  dear  Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  yours  of 
November  6th,  which  I  had  the  pleasure  to  receive  from  your 
son,  and  to  reply  that  I  think  the  present  condition  of  the 
service  imperiously  demands  your  continuance  in  the  army — 
at  least  until  there  is  such  change  as  will  justify  me  in  substi- 
tuting you  by  another. 

I  did  not  expect  General  Johnston  to  relieve  you  of  your 
special  charge,  nor  is  it  possible  that  he  should  do  so.    His 


374  MEMMINGEB'S  APPEAL.  [1861 

command  embraces  so  great  an  extent  of  territory  that  its 
successful  defense  must  mainly  depend  upon  the  efficiency  of 
the  division  commanders.  You  are  master  of  the  subjects  in- 
volved in  the  defense  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  contiguous 
territory.  You  have  just  won  a  victory  which  gives  you 
fresh  claims  to  the  affection  and  confidence  of  your  troops. 
How  should  I  hope  to  replace  you  without  injury  to  the 
cause  which  you  beautifully  and  reverently  described  to  me, 
when  you  resolved  to  enter  the  military  service,  as  equally 
that  of  our  altars  and  our  firesides'? 

Whilst  our  trust  is  in  God  as  our  shield,  he  requires  of  us 
that  all  human  means  shall  be  employed  to  justify  us  in  ex- 
pecting his  favor.  I  must  ask  you,  then,  to  postpone  your 
resignation,  and  be  assured  that  I  will  not  forget  your  desire 
to  resume  your  functions  as  bishop  of  a  diocese  of  the 
Church,  and  will  be  happy  to  gratify  your  wish  as  soon  as 
the  public  welfare  will  permit. 

Very  respectfully  your  friend, 

Jefferson  Davis. 
Major-General  L.  Polk. 

By  the  same  mail  which  carried  Mr.  Davis's  letter 
above  written,  Mr.  Memminger,  Confederate  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  wrote  urging  General  Polk  to  abandon 
his  wish  to  retire  from  the  army.  His  arguments  could 
not  fail  to  have  weight  with  a  man  of  Polk's  high  sense 
of  Christian  and  patriotic  duty. 

Richmond,  November  12, 1861. 
My  dear  Bishop:  I  am  much  concerned  at  learning  from 
the  President  your  desire  to  resign  your  military  office.  I 
have  read  your  letters,  and  you  will  see  from  the  President's 
reply  that  you  are  mistaken  in  supposing  that  General 
Johnston's  appointment  relieves  the  necessity  of  your  ser- 
vices. Permit  me  as  a  brother  in  the  Lord  to  say  that  I 
think  both  you  and  I  are  just  as  much  called  and  ordained  to 
the  posts  we  occupy  as  the  presbyter  upon  whom  your  hands 
are  laid.    The  President  is,  in  his  high  office,  the  minister  of 


ML  55]      APPROVAL   OF  BISHOP  MEADE.  375 

God  for  the  State ;  and  when,  in  the  discharge  of  his  office, 
he  calls  upon  you  as  best  qualified  to  defend  the  altar  of  God 
and  the  homes  of  your  people,  it  seems  to  me  to  become  an 
indication  of  Providence.  For  myself,  I  have  not  been  able 
to  put  aside  such  a  call.  I  have  never  put  your  case  to  any 
conscientious  layman  in  this  respect  that  he  did  not  approve 
and  honor  your  course.  Even  the  tribe  of  Levi,  when  Moses 
called  for  those  on  the  Lord's  side,  took  the  sword  and  swept 
away  the  enemies  of  his  authority;  and  when  the  silver 
trumpets  were  blown,  the  whole  country  came  forth  for 
defense,  and  the  Lord  was  with  the  people,  as  I  trust  he  is 
with  us.  I  earnestly  hope  that  you  will  feel  it  expedient  to 
retain  your  command  until  a  fitting  successor  can  be  found, 
and  the  strongest  providential  indication  is  the  fact  that  at 
present  no  one  can  take  your  place.  I  think  there  would  be 
serious  damage  to  the  public  interests  by  devolving  the  com- 
mand upon  your  subordinates;  and  now  that  the  Lord  has 
given  you  the  late  glorious  victory,  your  influence  is  de- 
servedly higher  among  the  soldiers,  and  you  will  draw  greater 
numbers  to  your  banner.  May  God  bless,  direct,  and  pre- 
serve you.  Very  truly  yours, 

Major-General  L.  Polk.  C-  C«  Memminger. 

Mr.  Memminger's  appeal  was  supported  by  a  letter 
from  Bishop  Meade,  in  which  Polk  was  assured  of  the 
confidence  and  approval  of  his  brethren  in  the  Church. 
Bishop  Meade  had  recently  laid  his  case  before  the  Presi- 
dent and  had  been  told  that  General  Polk  could  not  be 
spared.  Bishop  Meade's  letter  is  dated  Millwood,  No- 
vember 15th.  His  simple  but  vivid  description  of  the 
condition  of  northern  Virginia,  and  of  the  sacrifices 
made  thus  early  in  the  war  by  the  women  and  non-com- 
batants in  the  aid  of  the  army  were  well  calculated  to 
stir  the  spirit  of  a  soldier. 

My  dear  Brother:  On  returning  home,  on  the  sick  list,  a 
few  days  since,  I  found  your  esteemed  favor  of  the  26th  of 


376  LETTER  FROM  BISHOP  MEADE.  [1861 

September,  and  being  unable  to  go  to  church  on  this  our  fast 
day,  I  will  employ  a  few  moments  of  it  in  writing  to  you. 
I  had  read  and  highly  approved  what  you  addressed  to  the 
public  authorities,  and  have  rejoiced  with  others  in  the  belief 
that  you  have  done  good  service  in  Tennessee,  and  elsewhere, 
by  wise  counsels.  That  you  have  contributed  your  part  to 
the  late  victory,  and  have  been  preserved  alive  and  unhurt,  is 
a  subject  of  thankfulness  to  your  many  friends.  May  you 
be  spared  and  enabled  to  render  yet  more  and  greater  service 
to  our  cause,  which  daily  appears  to  be  more  just  and  impor- 
tant, and  to  have  the  blessing  of  God. 

On  my  way  to  Columbia,  early  in  October,  when  in  Rich- 
mond, I  called  on  President  Davis  and  proposed  to  him 
this  question :  Whether  in  the  changed  circumstances  of  the 
army  in  the  West,  so  many  able  generals  having  taken  the 
field,  you  might  not  now  be  spared  without  injury  to  the 
cause?  To  this  he  emphatically  replied  in  the  negative,  add- 
ing that  there  was  a  complication  of  circumstances  requiring 
your  continuance.  I  said  that  I  would  not  have  you  with- 
draw if  such  were  the  case,  and  would  justify  your  continu- 
ance to  all  the  brethren  whom  I  should  meet  at  Columbia. 

Your  acceptance  of  the  office  I  had  defended  before  against 
all  objections,  as  an  exception  to  a  general  rule  imperiously 
demanded  by  the  emergencies  of  the  country. 

I  stated  the  President's  answer  and  my  own  convictions  to 
a  number  of  the  bishops  and  clergy  at  Columbia,  and  heard 
no  objections,  though  I  suppose  there  may  have  been  some 
who  doubted.  Some  of  the  northern  papers,  as  was  to  be 
expected,  condemned  and  anathematized  j  but  they  are  not 
competent  judges  for  us.  The  Church  Intelligencer  of  North 
Carolina  also  condemned  your  course  j  but  its  defense  of  the 
proposition  to  change  the  name  of  our  Church,  and  some 
other  articles  in  it,  against  the  view  of  Elliott  and  yourself 
as  to  the  effect  of  secession,  will  weaken  its  effects  in  the 
South.    .    .    . 

I  am  now  in  winter  quarters,  being  laid  up  with  a  cold  and 
cough  which  must  keep  me  housed  until  spring.  My  days  of 
labor  must  soon  be  numbered ;  and  my  old  age,  instead  of 


Mi.  55]  THE    WOMEN  OF   VIRGINIA.  377 

being  peaceful  and  quiet,  will  be  spent  in  the  midst  of  wars 
and  rumors  of  wars.  The  enemy  is  again  in  the  valley, 
about  fifty  miles  from  me,  and  threatening  a  nearer  approach, 
after  having  plundered  corn,  wheat,  and  cattle  on  the  north 
and  south  branches  of  the  Potomac  — sending  the  same  to 
Washington.  We  are  preparing  the  militia,  with  some  regu- 
lars, to  drive  them  out,  if  practicable  j  but  the  demands  at 
Manassas  are  so  great,  under  the  expectation  of  a  great  bat- 
tle, and  the  necessity  of  a  force  at  Leesburg  to  resist  Banks's 
army  in  Maryland  is  such  that  we  cannot  get  the  forces 
which  are  desirable,  if  not  indispensable.    .    .    . 

Our  diocese  is,  of  course,  in  a  state  of  much  affliction.  Our 
seminary,  high  school,  The  Southern  Churchman,  and  Alex- 
andria are  in  the  enemy's  hands.  Many  of  our  clergy  are 
driven  from  their  congregations  and  homes.  Our  candidates 
for  the  ministry  are  nearly  all  in  the  ranks,  our  schools  and 
colleges  reduced  to  perhaps  one  tenth  of  their  numbers.  But 
still  I  hear  not  a  word  of  complaint  or  doubt  as  to  the  vigor- 
ous prosecution  of  the  war  at  whatever  cost.  Our  females, 
young  and  old,  are  laboring  diligently  with  their  hands, 
knitting  and  sewing.  Comforts  of  all  kinds  are  poured  in 
on  our  armies  of  sick  ones.  Not  only  are  many  families  strip- 
ping themselves  of  blankets,  but  cutting  up  their  carpets  to 
make  coverlets  for  the  soldiers.  On  returning  home,  I  found 
but  one  narrow  slip  in  each  of  my  rooms,  and  praised  my 
daughter  for  what  she  had  done.  My  son,  with  whom  I 
live,  has  been  employed  for  more  than  two  months  in 
carrying  comforts  to  the  sick  and  dying  soldiers  from  this 
part  of  the  State,  amounting  to  twenty-two  horse-wagon 
loads,  for  which  he  and  those  who  furnish  them  receive 
most  grateful  thanks. 


Still  another  equally  strong  remonstrance  against 
Polk's  withdrawal  from  the  army  was  received  from  one 
of  equal  piety  and  authority  in  the  Church,  Bishop  Otey, 
but  the  letter  seems  to  have  reached  Polk  after  he  had 
decided  to  retain  his  commission : 


378  BISHOP   OTEY'S  REMONSTRANCE.  [1861 

Memphis,  December  4,  1S61. 

My  beloved  Brother :  Upon  returning  home,  day  before  yes- 
terday, I  received  copies  of  the  letter  addressed  to  you  by 
Mr.  Memminger  and  the  President  on  the  subject  of  your 
resignation  of  your  command  in  the  provisional  army,  etc. 
If  any  doubt  lingered  in  your  mind  as  to  the  propriety  of 
retaining  a  position  into  which  you  have  been  called  by  the 
wise  providence  of  God,  it  seems  to  me  that  it  should  be 
removed  by  the  statements  and  reasonings  of  those  letters. 
Your  letter  of  the  6th  of  November  tendering  your  resigna- 
tion of  your  commission  of  major-general,  of  which  I  have  just 
made  a  copy,  will  triumphantly  vindicate  the  purity  of  your 
motives  and  the  high  and  noble  considerations  which  have 
influenced  your  course,  and  will  justify  your  retention  of 
your  command  in  the  view  of  all  reflecting  and  right-minded 
men.  If  examples  of  men  of  like  profession  and  similarly 
situated  with  yourself,  who  have  been  called  to  take  up  arms 
for  the  defense  of  the  altars  of  God  and  of  their  country,  be 
called  for,  they  can  be  readily  furnished  from  the  record  of 
Holy  Writ.  The  conduct  of  Phinehas,  Numbers  xxv,  10,  11, 
was  so  praiseworthy  that  it  elicited  the  divine  commendation 
in  the  remarkable  words:  "The  Lord  spake  unto  Moses, 
saying,  Phinehas,  the  son  of  Eleazar,  the  son  of  Aaron  the 
priest,  hath  turned  my  wrath  away  from  the  children  of 
Israel,  while  he  was  zealous  for  my  sake  among  them,  that  I 
consumed  not  the  children  of  Israel  in  my  jealousy."  And 
David,  commenting  on  the  transaction,  commends  his  conduct 
by  saying:  "And  that  was  counted  unto  him  for  righteousness 
among  all  posterities  forevermore."  The  case  of  Samuel  the 
prophet  is  equally  pertinent,  for  he  repeatedly  led  the  armies 
of  Israel  to  battle,  and,  on  one  occasion,  himself  took  the 
sword  and  "hewed  Agag,"  the  king  of  Amalek,  "in  pieces 
before  the  Lord." 

If  ever  man  drew  the  sword  in  the  cause  of  righteousness 
and  justice,  in  defense  of  the  dearest  and  most  sacred  rights 
of  man,  I  think  you  have  done  so,  and  I  need  not  assure  you 
that  my  poor  prayers  are  daily  offered  for  your  success  and 
your  preservation.    I  had  intended  to  write  you  much  on 


Mt.  55]  RESIGNATION  RECALLED.  379 

this  subject ;  but  I  know  that  your  time  is  too  valuable  to  be 
consumed  in  reading  what  my  heart  prompts  me  to  write, 
when  all  that  I  might  say  is  comprehended  in  the  few  lines 
above  written.  The  approval  of  your  own  conscience,  which 
I  fully  believe  you  have,  is  of  more  worth  and  comfort  to  you 
than  all  the  words  of  man's  approbation  and  sympathy. 

It  was  not  for  many  days  that  Polk  could  make  up 
his  mind  to  waive  his  desire  to  be  relieved.  Before 
replying  to  the  President,  he  made  his  resolution  known 
to  General  Johnston,  and,  as  Colonel  William  Preston 
Johnston  says  in  his  u  Life  *  of  his  father,  "  it  was  no 
small  comfort  to  Johnston  to  feel  that,  in  this  important 
command,  he  had  an  old  friend  in  whose  fidelity  and 
ability  he  placed  unbounded  confidence."  To  the  Presi- 
dent General  Polk's  answer  was  as  follows : 

Headquarters,  1st  Division,  Western  Department, 
Columbus,  Ky.,  Dec.  8, 1861. 
Sir:  Your  letter  of  November  12th  in  reply  to  mine  on  the 
subject  of  my  resignation  of  appointment  of  major-general 
in  the  Confederate  army  has  been  received.  I  appreciate  the 
confidence  you  have  been  pleased  to  express  in  me.  After 
carefully  considering  all  my  responsibilities  in  the  premises, 
and  your  deliberate  judgment  as  to  the  necessities  of  the 
service,  I  have  concluded  to  waive  the  pressing  of  my  applica- 
tion for  a  release  from  further  service,  and  have  determined 
to  retain  my  oflice  so  long  as  I  may  be  of  service  to  our  cause. 
•I  remain, 

Faithfully  your  friend, 

L.  Polk,  Major-  Gen.  Commanding. 
To  His  Excellency,  Jefferson  Davis, 
President,  C.  S.  A. 

From  the  language  of  the  foregoing  letter  it  might 
have  been  inferred  that  Polk  had  abandoned  all  further 
thought  of  retiring  from  the  army  j  but  it  was  not  so. 


380  BENE  WED  ATTEMPT  TO  RESIGN.  [1861 

He  had  abandoned  it  only  nntil  it  should  appear  to  his 
superiors  in  office,  as  well  as  to  himself,  that  the  neces- 
sity for  his  service  in  the  army  was  at  an  end.  Less 
than  two  months  afterward  he  was  led  to  believe  that 
the  necessity  had  passed,  and  he  instantly  telegraphed 
the  following  dispatch  to  Richmond : 

Headquarters,  1st  Division,  Western  Department, 
Columbus,  Ky.,  Jan.  30, 1862. 

Mr,  President:  Having  been  informed  that  the  condition  of 
the  service  on  the  Potomac  is  such  as  to  make  it  unnecessary  to 
retain  so  many  general  officers  on  that  line  as  have  hitherto 
been  engaged  there,  and  that  one  or  more  may  be  spared  for 
service  in  the  West,  I  have  respectfully  to  renew  the  applica- 
tion I  made  to  you  in  my  letter  of  the  6th  of  November,  to  be 
relieved  from  my  command  in  the  army,  and  permitted  to  re- 
turn to  the  duties  of  my  episcopal  office.  You  were  pleased 
to  say  in  your  reply  of  the  12th  of  the  same  month  that  you 
desired  me  to  postpone  my  resignation  until  a  change  in  the 
then  existing  condition  of  affairs  might  take  place ;  that  you 
would  not  forget  my  wishes  j  and  that  you  would  gratify  them 
as  soon  as  practicable.  In  compliance  with  your  desire  I 
withdrew  my  resignation. 

The  want  of  a  general  officer  to  whom  the  command  might 
be  entrusted,  who  could  be  spared  from  other  service,  being 
the  objection  to  the  acceptance  of  my  resignation  when  ten- 
dered, and  that  obstacle  no  longer  existing,  I  desire  again 
respectfully  to  renew  my  application,  and  to  express  the  hope 
that  the  service  I  have  rendered  in  my  peculiar  circumstances 
may  be  accepted  as  my  contribution  in  that  line  to  a  cause  the 
success  of  which  is  no  longer  doubtful. 

Respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

L.  Polk,  Major- General,  C.  S.  A. 

His  Excellency,  Jefferson  Davis, 
President,  C.  S.  A. 

In  reply  to  this  dispatch  Polk  received  no  less  than 
three  letters,  which  convinced  him  that  the  hopeful  view 


Mt.  55]     A    COMPLIMENT  FROM  CONGRESS.         381 

he  had  been  led  to  take  of  the  immediate  prospects  of  the 
Confederacy  was  not  shared  by  the  authorities  at  Rich- 
mond. The  first  was  from  the  Hon.  John  Perkins,  Jr., 
member  of  the  Confederate  Congress  from  Louisiana : 

Richmond,  February  1,  1862. 

My  dear  General:  The  President  showed  me  the  day  be- 
fore yesterday  a  telegraphic  despatch  he  had  just  received 
from  you,  renewing  a  request  previously  made  to  be  relieved 
from  your  present  command,  and  told  me  that  he  had  written 
you  that  your  services  could  not  be  spared,  and  then  pro- 
ceeded to  speak  of  you  in  terms  most  grateful  to  my  feelings. 

Your  name  came  up  in  our  conversation  accidentally,  and 
the  President  spoke,  not  for  effect,  but  in  the  confidence  that 
exists  between  us  on  public  men  and  public  business,  and  his 
expressions  were  so  warm  that  I  begged  him  for  permission 
to  repeat  them. 

I  write  you  now  to  beg  that  you  will  dismiss  all  idea  of  re- 
signing your  position  in  the  army.  Indeed,  my  dear  general, 
as  a  member  of  Congress,  I  feel  I  have  almost  the  right  to 
protest  against  your  permitting  the  public  to  know  that  you 
ever  thought  of  taking  such  a  step.  I  can  say  in  the  sincerity 
of  friendship,  and  without  violation  of  secrecy,  that  I  have 
never  heard,  either  on  the  floor  of  Congress  or  from  any  other 
official  of  the  government,  other  than  the  highest  estimate 
placed  upon  your  services  as  a  military  man.  The  report  of 
the  Secretary  of  War,  now  in  the  hands  of  the  printer,  speaks 
of  you  in  connection  with  the  battle  of  Belmont  in  terms  of 
the  most  beautiful  praise. 

Your  report  of  that  battle  was  made  an  exception  by  Con- 
gress, and  was  ordered  to  be  printed  several  weeks  in  advance 
of  those  of  other  generals.  Under  these  circumstances,  I  feel 
that,  in  writing  you  as  I  do,  I  speak  the  sentiment  of  those 
connected  with  both  branches  of  the  government.  I  ex- 
pressed a  fear  to  the  President  that  your  wish  to  resign  might 
be  influenced  by  the  fact  of  General  Beauregard  having  been 
ordered  to  the  same  military  district  with  yourself.  He 
assured  me,  however,  that  your  application  was  made  prior 


382  URGED  NOT  TO  RESIGN.  [1861 

to  the  order  given  General  Beauregard  j  and  then  went  on  to 
say  that  your  services  were  more  needed  now  than  when  you 
first  addressed  him  on  the  subject,  but  intimated  that  the 
action  of  the  Episcopal  Convention  that  met  in  November 
might  have  influenced  your  feelings.  I  sincerely  trust  that 
this  may  not  be  the  case,  and  that,  having  once  assumed  a 
prominent  position  in  defense  of  our  country,  you  may  not 
weaken  our  cause  by  even  a  seeming  reluctance  to  continue 
in  its  service.  This  is  a  moment  of  peculiar  peril,  and  we  re- 
quire all  the  moral  force  that  can  be  brought  to  bear  to  con- 
firm and  strengthen  our  military  authorities.  I  do  not  feel 
that  I  have  a  right  to  urge  upon  you  the  necessity  of  sacri- 
ficing individual  inclinations  in  view  of  great  public  duties 
imposed  upon  us  in  time  of  great  national  trials.  This  duty, 
I  know,  was  felt  when  you  laid  aside,  temporarily,  the  care  of 
your  diocese  to  assume  a  military  command;  but  I  have  feared 
you  might  not  realize  fully  the  effect  that  a  surrender  of  that 
command  would  now  have  upon  the  success  of  our  arms. 
The  difficulties  of  your  position  are,  I  assure  you,  fully  ap- 
preciated, as  well  as  the  feebleness  of  the  resources  at  your 
disposal,  in  front  of  an  enemy  greatly  superior  in  men  and 
military  equipments.  I  would  write  with  much  more  feeling 
if  I  was  not  aware  that  I  addressed  myself  to  one  accustomed 
to  act  after  mature  reflection  and  a  conscientious  weighing 
of  all  those  considerations  which  should  influence  a  patriot  in 
determining  upon  the  path  of  duty;  and  am  very  sincerely 
your  friend,  Jno.  Perkins,  Jr. 

Leonidas  Polk,  Major-General,  C.  S.  A., 
Columbus. 

The  second  letter  was  from  Mr.  A.  T.  Bledsoe,  Assist- 
ant Secretary  of  War,  an  intimate  acquaintance,  for- 
merly Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the  University  of 
Virginia,  whom  Polk  had  frequently  consulted  in  the 
organization  of  the  University  of  the  South,  and  whom 
he  had  fully  expected  to  be  elected  to  a  chair  in  that  in- 
stitution.   Mr.  Bledsoe's  letter  was  as  follows : 


Mt.  55]         LETTER  FROM  A.  T.  BLEDSOE.  383 

Confederate  States  op  America,  War  Department, 
Richmond,  February  3,  1862. 

My  dear  General :  I  sincerely  rejoice  to  learn,  as  I  have  done 
from  several  sources,  that  you  have  almost,  if  not  entirely,  re- 
covered from  the  effects  of  the  explosion  of  the  cannon. 

I  am  deeply  grieved,  however,  to  hear  that  you  have  some 
thoughts  of  retiring  from  the  service.  I  hope,  and  beg,  and 
pray  that  you  will  not  do  so. 

President  Davis  expected  great  things  of  you  when  you 
were  appointed,  and  there  has  not  been  to  this  day  the  abate- 
ment of  one  jot  or  tittle  in  his  expectations.  I  know  he 
would  be  sadly  grieved  if  you  were  to  resign.  What  is  true 
of  Davis  is  also  true  of  your  other  friends,  and  especially  of 
myself. 

But  what  is  the  opinion  of  man?  What  the  opinion  of 
presidents,  or  priests,  or  laymen,  or  bishops?  You  know, 
and  you  feel,  that  you  have  engaged  in  as  great  and  as 
sacred  a  cause  as  ever  enlisted  the  services  of  man;  and,  in 
this  cause,  you  have  just  begun  to  act.  I  know  you  can 
render  most  important,  most  valuable  services.  I  have  said 
so  from  the  first,  and  know  it  now  more  fully  than  before 
you  were  tried.  Turn  not  back,  I  implore  you,  but  hold  right 
on  in  spite  of  all  opposition  of  all  kinds.  Ten  thousand 
hearts  are  with  you,  and  look  to  you  as  one  of  our  most  effi- 
cient generals.  We  feel  as  if  we  could  not  spare  you.  I 
feel  as  if  I  were  only  uttering  the  sentiment  of  the  people  of 
the  Confederacy  when  I  say  you  must  not  resign. 

Pardon  me,  I  beseech  you,  if  in  this  simple  and  earnest 
outpouring  of  my  heart,  I  have  said  anything  offensive  to 
you.  I  have  no  time,  as  you  can  well  imagine,  to  weigh  my 
words  in  the  midst  of  so  much  business. 

May  the  Lord  direct  you  into  the  right  way,  is  the  prayer 
of  your  servant,  friend,  and  brother, 

A.  T.  Bledsoe. 

The  third  letter  was  from  the  President  himself.  It 
was  kindly,  considerate,  and  even  affectionate ;  but  it  was 
unequivocally  firm  in  its  statement  that  Polk's  resigna- 


384  FALL   OF  FOHT  HENRY.  [1861 

tion  could  not  be  entertained,  and  it  begged  him  to 
"  abandon  for  the  present  all  thought  of  resigning." 


Richmond,  Va.,  February  7,  1862. 

My  dear  General:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  yours 
of  the  30th  ult.  It  having  been  my  good  fortune  to  converse 
freely  with  your  son,  he  will  communicate  to  you  my  views 
in  relation  to  the  subject  of  your  letter  more  freely  than  I 
can  now  offer  them  in  writing.  I  felt,  and  feel,  unwilling  to 
detain  you  in  the  military  service  beyond  the  necessity  for 
your  presence,  and  wish  the  opportunity  for  the  fulfillment  of 
my  promise  enabled  me  to  comply  with  your  renewed  re- 
quest. When  you  gave  yourself  to  the  military  service,  the 
moral  effect  was  most  beneficial.  Now  you  have  gained  an 
amount  of  special  information  of  great  importance  to  the 
defense  of  the  Mississippi  Valley ;  and  at  the  moment  when 
clouds  are  gathering  over  the  field  of  your  labors,  we  can 
least  afford  to  lose  you. 

The  news  of  the  fall  of  Fort  Henry  has  just  reached  us. 
Looking  to  the  public  interest,  and  as  your  friend,  watchful 
of  your  own  welfare,  I  must  beg  that  you  abandon  for  the 
present  all  thought  of  resigning. 

You  have  been  overworked,  and  I  can  appreciate  the  con- 
dition of  one  whose  cares  follow  both  his  waking  and  sleeping 
hours j  in  that  regard  I  have  hoped  to  give  you  some  relief 
by  assigning  General  Beauregard  to  duty  at  Columbus.  He 
is  an  able  engineer  and  full  of  resources,  is  courteous  and 
energetic.  He  will,  it  is  hoped,  divide  your  troubles  and 
multiply  your  means  to  resist  them. 

In  vain  have  we  struggled  to  supply  ourselves  with  the 
requisite  arms.  A  few  have  been  recently  obtained.  We  are 
hopeful  of  further  supplies,  and  faithfully  trusting  in  the 
Giver  of  all  good  things,  I  rely  upon  more  than  I  can  see 
of  support  to  our  just  cause. 

Affectionately  your  friend, 

Jefferson  Davis. 

Rt.  Rev.  L.  Polk,  Major-General,  C.  S.  A. 


JBi  55]  RETIREMENT  ABANDONED.  385 

After  such  a  letter  as  this  from  his  commander-in- 
chief,  it  was  no  longer  possible  for  a  soldier  to  think  of 
retiring  from  his  post  until  relief  should  be  offered.  All 
that  was  now  left  to  him  was  to  go  on  with  the  duty- 
he  had  undertaken,  "  firm  and  steadfast  to  the  end."  It 
was  a  grievous  disappointment  to  him,  but  he  bore  it 
like  a  Christian  soldier,  silently. 

If  any  man,  soldier  or  civilian,  priest  or  layman,  after 
reading  the  brief  statement  of  facts  given  in  the  present 
chapter,  finds  it  in  his  heart  to  condemn  Leonidas  Polk 
or  to  blame  him  harshly,  we  "would  not  die  in  that 
man's  company." 

END  OF  VOL.  I. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY, 
BERKELEY 


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J  N  18 


4  J4«J$k*  L 

U£C    7T64~4b|| 


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ITER-UBRARY 
LOAN 

OCT  16 1967 


25ra-7/25 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


